Following activation of the Scottish Hate Crime Act, which created the offence of ‘stirring up’ hatred against the protected characteristic of ‘transgender identity’, SNP ministers are planning to extend the law to offer more protections for transgender folk.
Amid calls for the controversial legislation to be scrapped after police were swamped with thousands of complaints within a week, the Scottish Government is proposing new legal provisions to make it easier to prosecute those who engage in “conversion practices”.
As reported by the Telegraph, under the planned overhaul, attempting to “change or suppress” a person’s gender identity or sexual orientation, even as part of an attempt to help that person, would become an “aggravator” in cases in which another crime was committed.
The report continues:
This would mean anyone convicted of another offence would face a harsher sentence, potentially on the basis of a single piece of evidence, if it could be shown that their actions were motivated by a desire to “convert” someone.
The proposal was included in a Scottish Government consultation that recently closed, and would be part of a wide-ranging ban on conversion therapy, which would be separate legislation to the hate crime law.
However, the move would be intended to plug “gaps within the law” and is designed to apply to practices not covered by the Hate Crime and Public Order (Scotland) Act.
The hate crime law includes current legislation on statutory aggravators, which cover transgender identity and other characteristics such as race, religion and disability.
The conversion therapy plans have been highly controversial because parents could potentially be prosecuted and face up to seven years in jail if they refused to let their child “socially transition” to live as a member of the opposite sex. The law would apply even if a parent believed they were helping their child.
“Members of the public will find it incredible that, despite the fiasco created by these hate crime laws, the Government is already considering extending them,” said Marion Calder, a director with the For Women Scotland campaign group.
“Any actions to which an aggravator could be attached are already illegal. The consultation makes clear that this is simply an attempt to threaten and criminalise loving parents or medical professionals acting in a child’s best interests.
“Rather than doubling down on these draconian laws, the SNP Government should listen to women and front line police officers and scrap them.”
The Scottish Government claimed the new aggravator was needed because, under existing hate crime laws, a court would have to show that a person was motivated by “malice or ill-will based on the sexual orientation or transgender identity of the victim”.
In contrast, it is planned that people could be prosecuted under the conversion therapy ban even if they believed they were helping the “victim”.
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