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By: Stefan Krieger
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A new anti-hate law in Scotland is met with strong criticism from JK Rowling. As a consequence, the author demands her own arrest.
Edinburgh - A new hate crime law came into force in Scotland on Monday (April 1), targeting "incitement to hatred" based on age, disability, religion, sexual orientation, transgender or trans identity should. Harry Potter author JK Rowling seems anything but happy about it.
Opponents of the law complain that it could lead to a flood of advertisements and see the right to freedom of expression at risk. They also criticize the fact that women are not among the protected groups of people. However, the government in Edinburgh had announced that it would introduce its own law against misogyny.
Rowling with long text on X
Rowling, meanwhile, posted a lengthy text on
The British writer JK Rowling. © Tolga Akmen / AFP
“Scottish lawmakers appear to place greater value on the feelings of men who live out their ideas of femininity, however misogynistic or opportunistic, than on the rights and freedoms of real women and girls,” Rowling said.
Harry Potter author is outraged
Rowling, who has long been clear about her transphobic beliefs, including her "concerns" about trans women using public toilets, expressed outrage that the new law does not explicitly include women in the group of protected people.
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“Redefining the term 'woman' to include any man who declares himself a woman is already having serious consequences for the rights and safety of women and girls in Scotland, with the greatest impact, as always, felt by the most vulnerable , including (…) victims of rape,” said Rowling in her post on X.
The Harry Potter author added: "If what I have written here is considered a misdemeanor under the new law, I look forward to being arrested." Rowling claims that biological sex cannot be changed and refers to trans women always as men.
JK Rowling would “like to go to prison”.
This is not the first time that Rowling has made statements along these lines. In October last year, the author told "I'm happy to serve two years if the alternative is being forced to deny the reality and meaning of gender," she said at the time.
Scotland's responsible State Secretary, Siobhian Brown, had previously not ruled out in a BBC interview that so-called misgendering could also be prosecuted. The term refers to the assignment of a person to a gender that does not correspond to their self-chosen identity.
Meanwhile, Scottish Prime Minister Humza Yousaf from the SNP independence party defended the law. It will help counter the growing hatred, he said. The general secretary of the Scottish Police Federation, David Kennedy, was more skeptical. He warned in an interview on BBC 4 radio that officials were not sufficiently trained to apply the new legislation. (skr/dpa)