Is participating in Mumsnet Feminist threads or Twitter women’s rights threads a Hate Crime?

[Shouldgetupearlier]

Just wondering if I need to delete accounts or stop participating. Not said anything hateful, but have liked comments that certain sensitive folk could perceive as being mean - mainly about keeping female sport for females, and not doing medical experiments on children. Also criticised Humza quite a few times, so that could land me in hot water. Does having GC books count as a hate crime?

And for anyone in doubt - I do genuinely want to know the answer, it’s not just to publish the fact that it’s coming in.

OP I don't think the Act will be retrospective.

But blimey are you going to be living under the gestapo up in Scotland.

Awful.

Are you using your real name? I doubt they'd figure out who you are or that they could compel MN to tell them. MNHQ is not in Scotland.

From April 1st? I have no idea and I bet even the SNP don't have a clue how this will pan out. It will all have to be tested in lower courts, and if women refuse to wheesht and accept the chastisements offered by the polis, then a tonne of witch-finding cases will be run over and over again, with appeals and further appeals all the way to the Supreme Court.

I suspect JKR may become involved in some way in dismantling this new law by testing it and showing its incompatibility with the Human Rights Act etc.

It also seems mad that this might have the chilling effect of deterring me from visiting family in Scotland in case I'm (theoretically) arrested at the border, because of my internet use in England.

I doubt this was ever properly thought through.

Nothing the SNP do is properly thought through.

No one knows- the one thing the SNP are really good at is writing god awful legislation.

Roddy Dunlop is interesting on this (& other) crap legislation on X.
https://twitter.com/RoddyQC/status/1769476830744969435

We're entirely reliant on JKR's gloriously huge ovaries 💚🤍💜
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2024/03/18/jk-rowling-keep-calling-a-man-a-man-snp-hate-crime-laws/
(use https://12ft.io/ if needed)

Blimey

How depressing for Scotland

You might want to burn all your email logins and use burner accounts.

I'll be name changing rigorously. I'm not really on Twitter so no worries there. And it can't be applied retrospectively. I think JKR is gunning for a fight on it though so that will be interesting. They would have to compel MN to give up IP addresses through the courts so interested to see how that goes.

Naturally, the misogynists on Reddit can sleep safely in their bed as that gets a free pass...

I think the way the legislation works is if someone in Scotland reads something here that makes them sad they howl at the gender moon and a hate monster eats mumsnet.

It's insanity. Utter fucking insanity.

I'll have to leave it up to JKR and braver/richer people than me to test.

I will be effectively silenced. What has happened to Scotland. Insanity.

Talk about chilling effect?

What I don't understand is how little fuss has been made so far. How have we got here?

I've been wondering the same, and also whether I have to remove my For Women Scotland and feminist badges from my jacket.

It's bloody ridiculous.

Because most of the general population don’t know about it afaik.

It can’t be applied retrospectively but can it be applied to posts you’ve made in the past and haven’t deleted?

Mumsnet HQ -can you clarify if you’d have to give out posters identity?

Can Rishi Sunak overturn this as he did with the ridiculous gender/self ID law ScotGov rushed in?

They likely won’t see this but if you feel up to reporting for the reason you want them to that would work

If requested by a court, then they have done in the past yes.

Which is why you need burner emails.

What's the story here - I can't find anything on it?

Yup, get yourself a Proton email and use a nom de plume!

In fact, burn your current MN account, get a new one with a random email address not linked to you, and also use a VPN when logging in.

Especially if you actually live in Scotland and have any opinion not shared by the current government.

When the BBC reported on it yesterday in reference to plays and comedy shows, it used what to me was a falsely reassuring headline, considering the actual text of its own article clearly said that:

'The laws say hate can be communicated through public performances, online, or by playing videos.

'But officers will only respond to complaints and not go looking for offending material, the force have said.

'A lawyer said performers and writers "must trust to luck" they are not prosecuted.'

Clearly the polis WILL target performers if there are complaints. And there WILL be complaints. So that's the Edinburgh Fringe turned into a police state overnight.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-68605029

The Telegraph are being more realistic.

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2024/03/19/hate-crime-police-scotland-training-actors-plays-prosecute/

This thread gives comprehensive information, including analysis of consequences by expert commentators.

https://www.mumsnet.com/talk/womens_rights/5032028-scottish-hate-crime-bill-information-and-resources#:~:text=(a)displaying%2C%20publishing%20or,person%20in%20any%20other%20way.&text=(b)on%20conviction%20on%20indictment,a%20fine%20(or%20both).