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JK Rowling has thrown down the gauntlet implicit strict caller misgendering laws, telling police: “I look guardant to being arrested.”
The arguable caller laws successful Scotland marque stirring up hatred against a fig of groups, including transgender people, an offence.
The quality laws person faced dense disapproval and came into unit connected Monday.
The Harry Potter writer has been outspoken successful her defence of the rights of women, raising concerns astir single-sex spaces and the information of women successful prison.
She has publically clashed with activists connected societal media, with transgender writer and world TV property India Willoughby reporting JK Rowling to constabulary earlier this month.
However, Northumbria constabulary said that misgendering India online did not “meet the transgression threshold” of an offence.
However, the caller laws successful Scotland are overmuch stricter, and Ms Rowling has been outspoken successful her opposition.
“Scotland’s Hate Crime Act comes into effect today. Women summation nary further protections, of course, but well-known trans activistic Beth Douglas, darling of salient Scottish politicians, falls wrong a protected category. Phew!” she posted connected societal media.
She warned, “freedom of code and content are astatine an extremity successful Scotland if the close statement of biologic enactment is deemed criminal”.
The Hate Crime and Public Order (Scotland) Act passed by Scottish politicians successful 2021 but is lone present being rolled out. It consolidates existing hatred transgression authorities portion creating the caller offence.
Scotland’s devolved authorities has said it is simply a effect to the recommendations of an autarkic reappraisal into hatred transgression laws and ensures specified protections “are acceptable for the 21st century”.
Protected characteristics nether the caller laws see age, disability, race, religion and intersexual orientation, arsenic good arsenic sex identity.
But critics including Ms Rowling — an hostile of overmuch of the sex individuality movement, peculiarly successful Scotland — person deed retired astatine the authorities connected escaped code and different grounds.
It is “wide unfastened to maltreatment by activists who privation to soundlessness those of america speaking retired astir the dangers of eliminating women’s and girls’ single-sex spaces,” Ms Rowling said successful a lengthy online criticism.
“I’m presently retired of the country, but if what I’ve written present qualifies arsenic an offence nether the presumption of the caller act, I look guardant to being arrested erstwhile I instrumentality to the birthplace of the Scottish Enlightenment,” she added.
Human rights campaigner Peter Tatchell called the omission of women from the authorities an “astonishing exclusion”.
“The large flaw successful this measure is it does not support women against hate,” helium told BBC radio.
Elon Musk, the proprietor of X (formerly Twitter), is among others to dependable escaped code concerns implicit the caller laws.
However, Scotland’s First Minister Humza Yousaf insisted helium is “very proud” of them, saying they volition assistance support against a “rising tide” of hatred.
Scottish constabulary are being trained to enforce the legislation, though it has emerged much than a 3rd of officers person not yet completed an online people required astir the laws.
That has acrophobic critics, but Yousaf insisted helium is “very assured successful Police Scotland’s quality successful bid to instrumentality this authorities successful the mode it should”.
- with AFP
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