The Hate Crime and Public Order (Scotland) Act consolidates the existing law on crimes that are "aggravated by prejudice", but it also creates a new offence of "threatening or abusive behaviour which is intended to stir up hatred" on the grounds of age, disability, religion, sexual orientation, transgender identity or variations in sex characteristics.
Its critics have raised concerns that it fails to explicitly protect women, with some so-called gender-critical feminists fearing it could limit their ability to speak out on what they see as a clash between their rights and those of trans people.
Last week, the author JK Rowling dared the police to arrest her. There has also been an intense focus on whether particular comments on social media constitute an offence under the act.
But campaigners working with people whom the new law seeks to protect have told the Guardian they fear the debate has veered too far from the reality of hate crime for those who regularly experience it.
Diese Geschichte stammt aus der April 08, 2024-Ausgabe von The Guardian.
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Diese Geschichte stammt aus der April 08, 2024-Ausgabe von The Guardian.
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