Harry Potter author JK Rowling has openly challenged Scotland’s new hate crime law, which recently came into force, on social media and called on the police to arrest her if they find her comments offensive, on Tuesday, the 2nd of April, reports the British broadcaster BBC.
The Hate Crime and Public Order (Scotland) Act 2021 creates a new offence of “incitement to hatred” in relation to age, disability, religion, sexual orientation, transgender identity or intersex status.
Although the law does not protect women as a group from hate speech, the Scottish Government is expected to include the issue in a separate misogyny law at a later date.
On the day the new hate crime law came into force in Scotland, Rowling, a vocal critic of transgender activists, commented on X.
She criticised the legislation, arguing that it placed
the feelings of transgender people above “the rights and freedoms of real women and girls”,
particularly when it came to violence against women.
“Freedom of expression and belief is under threat in Scotland if accurate characterisation of biological sex is criminalised,” Rowling said.
Rowling pointed to some criminal cases, including that of Isla Bryson, a rapist, and Andrew Miller, who abducted and assaulted a girl. In her posts, she referred to them as men, that also included other transgender rights activists and public figures.
Rowling said that if her comments on social media were deemed offensive under the new law,
“I look forward to be arrested when I return to the birthplce of the Scottish Enlightenment”.
The maximum penalty under the new law in Scotland is seven years’ imprisonment.
Police Scotland confirmed that no complaints had been made about Rowling’s publications.
Meanwhile, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak defended freedom of expression, arguing that individuals should not face criminal liability for “simply stating biological facts”. In a statement to the Daily Telegraph, Sunak reaffirmed his party’s commitment to protecting freedom of expression.
The Scottish Government has defended the Hate Crime Act, stressing that it aims
to combat hatred and prejudice while preserving individuals’ freedom of expression.
First Minister Humza Yousaf stressed that the legislation aims to tackle the “rising tide of hate” in society.
Responding to concerns, Yousaf explained that the law only targets behaviour that threatens, harasses or is intended to incite hatred and reassured that those who do not meet these criteria need not worry about being punished.
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