Government moves to add sex to Hate Crime Act

Regulations to add sex as a protected characteristic under the Hate Crime Act have been tabled by the Scottish Government.

This will make it an offence to stir up hatred against women and girls on the basis of their biological sex, as well as allowing courts to hand down more serious sentences when a crime has been motivated by hatred of someone’s sex.

MSPs have limited time to scrutinise the regulations as there are only 25 more sitting days until the parliament ends ahead of the election.

But ministers expect it to come into force in April next year, providing time for Police Scotland to update training and guidance on the law.

Justice secretary Angela Constance said the change would “significantly strengthen” protections for women and girls.

The move comes more than four years after the passing of the Hate Crime Act, when parliamentarians voted to exclude ‘sex’ from the list of characteristics – the only protected characteristic under the Equality Act to not be covered.

At the time, the Scottish Government commissioned Baroness Helena Kennedy to conduct a review into how best to tackle misogyny, arguing it may require a different approach.

Baroness Kennedy concluded that a standalone offence for misogyny would be appropriate, a position ministers later agreed with.

However, last year it was confirmed the government would no longer be moving forward with its Misogyny Bill. It was felt there was “insufficient time” for the bill to be introduced and scrutinised by parliament before the election next May, particularly following the Supreme Court’s ruling on the definition of ‘sex’.

Instead, it was confirmed sex would be added to the existing law.

The changes will also create protections for men and boys on the grounds of their sex.

Constance said: “The changes will mean women and girls have the same protections as victims who are targeted because of a specific characteristic, such as age, religion or disability.

“Men and boys will also be protected, however, we know that women and girls suffer significantly more from threats, abuse and harassment based on their sex, so they are likely to benefit most from those new protections.”

The regulations remain largely unchanged from a draft version, which a large majority of consultees (309 of 365) supported.