JK Rowling calls police to arrest her as Harry Potter author slams new hate crime laws coming into force in Scotland

new measures Designed to address the harm caused by hatred and prejudice, protection will be provided against abuse based on grounds such as age, disability, religion, sexual orientation and transgender identity.

Holyrood MLA Siobhian Brown said on Monday people “could be investigated for misgendering someone online”.

Those supporting the new laws insist they will enact Scotland Be more tolerant. But critics like Rowling said the legislation could stifle free speech and failed to extend those protections to women.

Rowling made a series of comments about X slamming transgender women, including double rapist Isla Bryson, who was jailed Sentenced to eight years in prison Two women were raped last year.

The attacks occurred in 2016 and 2019, when Bryson (born Adam Graham) was a man.

The initial decision to house Bryson in an all-female prison sparked a backlash from the public and politicians, and within days Bryson was moved to a men’s prison.

Rowling said: “I am currently out of the country but if what I write here constitutes a crime under the terms of the new bill, I look forward to being arrested when I return to the birthplace of the Scottish Enlightenment.”

New law ‘open to abuse’

She said the new legislation “could easily be abused by campaigners who want to silence those of us who talk about the dangers of erasing single-sex spaces for women and girls, which render crime data meaningless if men commit violence and sexual assault.” .”documented as the crime of women, the grotesque injustice of allowing men to compete in women’s sports, the injustice of women’s jobs, honors and opportunities being taken away from trans men, and the reality and immutability of biological sex.”

Rowling has long been involved in a battle with the trans community, which accuses her of transphobia. The author denies the accusation, saying she wants to defend women’s rights.

On Monday, she went on to say: “The redefinition of ‘woman’ to include every man who identifies as a woman is already having serious consequences for the rights and safety of women and girls in Scotland, affecting most strongly, as always, the most vulnerable groups, including girls. Prisoners and rape survivors.

“Unless we are allowed to call a man a man, it is impossible to accurately describe or address the reality of violence and sexual violence against women and girls, or to address the current violations of the rights of women and girls. Freedom of speech and belief cannot be achieved without respect for biological sex. If an accurate description is deemed a crime, then the law in Scotland is over.”

“Too much hatred”

The Scottish Government has said it will introduce separate laws to tackle misogyny.

chief minister Humza Yusuf Defended the legislation, saying there is “too much hatred in society” and pledging a zero-tolerance approach.

Minister for Victim and Community Safety Ms Brown said: “No one in our society should live in fear and we are committed to building safer communities free from hate and prejudice.

“We know that those on the receiving end of physical, verbal or online assault can have traumatic and even life-changing effects. This legislation is an important part of our wider approach to addressing this harm.

“Protection for free speech is built into legislation passed by Parliament and the threshold for these new offenses is higher than the offense of inciting racial hatred which has existed since 1986.”