Hate Crime Bill

The Hate Crime and Public Order (Scotland) Bill is legislation intended to modernise, consolidate and extend existing hate crime law ensuring it is fit for the 21st Century. Through its passing, ‘stirring up’ of hatred offences will now apply to additional characteristics listed in the Bill: age, disability, religion, sexual orientation, transgender identity and variations in sex characteristics. These new protections will add to the long-standing stirring up racial hatred offences, which have been in place since 1986 and have been retained in largely the same form within the Bill. Conspicuous by their absence from the list of protected groups are women. Even though the law has not come into force Police Scotland have started using "hate crime" provisions under existing laws to prosecute women who stand up for their rights - a taste of things to come?