SCOTLAND
New misogyny law to criminalise messages about rape, sexual assault or disfigurement


Andrew Learmonth
Wed, 8 March 2023 

Barrister Baroness Helena Kennedy KC.

NEW legislation could see sending threatening or abusive messages to women and girls which refer to rape, sexual assault or disfigurement becoming a specific crime.

The criminal law is one of five being proposed by the Scottish Government following a wide-ranging review by barrister Baroness Helena Kennedy KC.

Others include measures to criminalise misogynistic behaviour, misogynistic harassment, and an offence of stirring up hatred against women and girls.

The government are also seeking to bring in a statutory aggravation concerning misogyny. This would allow the court to take a misogynistic motive into account when deal with a crime such as assault, criminal damage/vandalism or threatening or abusive behaviour.

Baroness Kennedy’s review was commissioned by ministers following criticism that the SNP administration’s controversial hate crime legislation did not explicitly offer protection for women and girls.

Launching the consultation on the new proposals, Justice Secretary Keith Brown said her work had been "stark in its assessment of the level of misogyny that exists in Scotland."

He added: Women and girls are routinely humiliated, touched, groped, undermined, trolled and objectified both online and off, and subjected to threats, harassment and abuse about their looks or desirability – stopping them from fully participating in society.

“Although there are already a range of laws that can be used to prosecute aspects of misogynistic harassment and abuse, these do not accurately identify the particular harm caused by misogyny.

“They also fail to adequately respond to problems faced by women, which is why we are consulting on further criminal reforms.

“And while criminal law reform alone cannot be expected to eliminate misogynistic abuse, or the attitudes which perpetuate it, these specific criminal protections are an important step in challenging society’s - and particularly men’s - tolerance of misogyny.

“I encourage everyone with an interest to consider what is proposed and offer their views.”

Baroness Kennedy urged “as many women as possible to participate in this consultation.”

She added: “For too long the law has not been drawn from the experience of women. It is time to hear from girls and women about what they think should be included in law so that they can be treated as equals and live free from abuse and denigration.”

In 2021, there were calls for the Scottish Government to add a sex aggravator to their controversial Hate Crime Bill, alongside race, religion, disability, sexual orientation and transgender identity.

However, an attempt to amend the bill by former Labour MSP Johan Lamont was defeated.

Instead, the then justice secretary Humza Yousaf urged his colleagues to give “the working group the time that it needs to explore the issue, come forward with recommendations and create, potentially, a world-leading approach.”