Women and girls across Scotland are set to receive stronger legal protection from hate crime under new regulations laid in the Scottish Parliament.
The proposed regulations would designate sex as a protected characteristic under the Hate Crime and Public Order (Scotland) Act 2021, making it a specific criminal offence to stir up hatred against individuals because they are women or girls – as well as men or boys.
If approved by MSPs, the change would bring sex‑based protections into line with those already in place for characteristics including age, disability, religion, sexual orientation, transgender identity and variations in sex characteristics.
Hate crime is defined in Scottish law as behaviour that is both criminal and motivated by prejudice. It can take many forms, including verbal abuse, physical assault, online harassment or face‑to‑face intimidation.
Under the proposed regulations, stirring up hatred based on sex would become a standalone criminal offence. In addition, crimes motivated by hatred of someone’s sex could be treated by the courts as aggravated offences, allowing judges to take this motivation into account when passing sentence following conviction.
The legislation also includes explicit safeguards for freedom of expression, ensuring that lawful debate, discussion and criticism are protected while criminal behaviour rooted in prejudice is addressed.
Angela Constance, Scottish Justice Secretary, said:
“These regulations will significantly strengthen legal protections for women and girls from offences motivated by prejudice and hatred because of their sex and they will ensure that Scotland’s justice system can respond appropriately.
“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 vast majority of responses received during the consultation on these proposals supported adding the characteristic of sex to both the stirring up of hatred offence and the aggravation.
“The regulations will come into force on 5 April 2027, giving Police Scotland the necessary time to update training and guidance and ensuring they are operationally ready for the change.”
The move follows a public consultation on draft regulations, which received 365 responses. Of those, 309 respondents supported adding sex as a protected characteristic for both the stirring up of hatred offence and the aggravation of existing crimes.
Ministers confirmed that the final regulations laid before MSPs are largely unchanged from the draft proposals, reflecting the level of support expressed during the consultation process.
Once implemented, the change will ensure that women and girls have the same legal safeguards available under the Hate Crime and Public Order (Scotland) Act as other groups already protected by the legislation.
MSPs will now scrutinise the regulations before deciding whether to approve them.
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