Hand in Hand Against LGBTQ+ Hate Crime in Scotland | Stonewall
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Hand in Hand Against LGBTQ+ Hate Crime in Scotland
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Hand in Hand Against LGBTQ+ Hate Crime in Scotland

In Scotland, the criminal justice system is largely devolved, allowing the Scottish Parliament to make laws on criminal matters.

Recently, there have been improvements to legislation on hate crime in Scotland. This means our calls to MPs to stand hand in hand against LGBTQ+ hate crime in Westminster differs for Scotland.

Hate Crime and Public Order (Scotland) Act 2021 

On April 1, 2024, the Hate Crime and Public Order (Scotland) Act 2021 (“The Act 2021”) came into effect. Notably, the Act:

  • Adds new characteristics: Under the Act 2021, age has been added as a characteristic and the previous definition of transgender identity used in legislation has been split to include two separate characteristics—transgender and variations in sex characteristics. 
  • Introduces a new offence of stirring up hatred: Since 1986, stirring up racial hatred has been an offence across the UK. Under the Act 2021, a similar offence, with a higher threshold for criminality, has been introduced to cover stirring up hatred on grounds of age, disability, religion, sexual orientation, transgender identity, and variations in sex characteristics.

Under the Act 2021, a crime can be aggravated by prejudice against sexual orientation or gender identity. This ensures that crimes motivated by a hatred towards LGBTQ+ people are treated with the gravity they deserve.

Scottish Government’s Hate Crime Strategy 

In 2023, the Scottish Government published its Hate Crime Strategy for Scotland, outlining commitments to tackle hate crime to accompany the implementation of the Act 2021. We supported the development of this strategy through the Hate Crime Strategic Partnership Group and the Scottish Government’s work with people who have lived experience of hate crime. One of the commitments in this strategy is to regularly review and strengthen activities that seek to address the various barriers to reporting.  

Our Calls for Scottish MPs

We want to see continued progress on addressing the barriers that prevent people from reporting hate crimes across Scotland. To do this, we are asking Scottish MPs to:

  • Support improvements to reporting and recording mechanisms to ensure they offer trauma-informed support for victims of hate crime.
  • Encourage continuous trust building between Police Scotland and the LGBTQ+ community.
  • Support third-party reporting centres to ensure victims and witnesses of hate crime have an avenue to report the incident if they do not feel comfortable going to the police.