Getty ImagesThe Scottish government has confirmed it will not bring forward planned legislation to criminalise misogyny before next year’s Holyrood election.
A bill has long been promised to improve protections for women and girls, but ministers now say there is not enough time to draw up a law which reflects the recent Supreme Court judgement on the definition of a woman.
They are instead going to amend existing hate crime legislation to provide protections on the basis of sex.
The government has also confirmed it will not be bringing forward legislation to end conversion therapy this term, and is hoping for a UK-wide solution.
A new misogyny law was promised after an expert group in 2022 backed separate legislation rather than incorporating abuse and violence against women into Scotland’s hate crime law.
The group, led by Baroness Helena Kennedy KC, said this was a better option because women are not a minority, and a “more fundamental set of responses” were required to address the “deeply rooted” problem.
The Scottish government proposed creating five new offences in its Misogyny Bill including stirring up hatred against women and misogynistic harassment.
Misogyny would also be treated as an aggravating factor in crimes, which could lead to tougher sentencing.
The Scottish government said it remained committed to ensuring people are protected from misogynistic abuse but it was a “complex area of policy and law” which required more time to work out where it would apply.
This would include assessing the implications of the recent Supreme Court judgement that a woman is defined by biological sex for the purposes of equality legislation.
It said there was insufficient time to proceed with the misogyny bill in this parliamentary session, but in September it would add the protected characteristic of sex to Scotland’s hate crime act.
The government said it was also dropping plans for a new law banning conversion therapy for sexual orientation or gender identity.
Ministers previously said Scotland wanted to lead the way in outlawing such practices – but it has now urged the Labour government at Westminster to legislate on the issue.
Equalities Minister Kaukab Stewart said if an approach covering Scotland, England and Wales could not be agreed, the Scottish government would introduce its own law within a year if it remained in power after next year’s Holyrood election.
‘Sturgeon policies’
Scottish Conservative deputy leader Rachael Hamilton MSP said the misogyny bill was the latest in a “litany of paused, ditched or botched” policies from Nicola Sturgeon’s time as first minister.
She said: “Misogyny remains a serious problem and it’s crucial that women and girls are protected from all forms of threatening and abusive behaviour in a way that safeguards their rights.”
The Scottish Greens said dropping the two bills was a “shameful backward step” and accused ministers of kicking them “into the long grass”.
The party’s qualities spokesperson Maggie Chapman said: “The misogyny bill was a vital step in ensuring that reports of harassment and assault are taken seriously.
“LGBTQIA+ people are put at serious risk by cruel, harmful conversion practices that are currently flying under the radar. So-called conversion ‘therapies’ are deeply immoral and leave lasting damage for survivors.”
Both pieces of legislation were part of the Bute House Agreement with the Scottish Greens which ended in April last year.
