Stonewall Scotland | 
Stonewall Scotland supports the hate crime bill introduced in the Scottish Parliament today by Patrick Harvie MSP to ensure a judge knows when a crime is motivated by anti-gay hatred.
More than half of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people in Scotland have been verbally abused because of their sexual orientation or gender identity - and more than a quarter have been physically assaulted.
Hate crime legislation sends a message that this is not acceptable in a modern Scotland - and empowers the police to take action and properly record such crimes.
Hate crimes can have a devastating, long-term psychological effect on their victims.
Norman McBreen, 28, was walking home from a friend's house when he was stabbed in the back because he was gay.
He said: "For six months after the attack I couldn't leave the house without someone beside me. I moved to London afterwards because I felt I wasn't safe in the West of Scotland."
Stonewall Scotland's Director, Calum Irving, said: "We strongly welcome Patrick Harvie's bill and hope that all MSPs actively support it. A modern Scotland should be a country which makes it clear that anti-gay hate is wrong and will be tackled with the full force of the law."
ENDS
Notes to editors:
1. The proposed bill will cover crimes motivated by malice or ill will on the grounds of sexual orientation, transgender identity and disability.
2. In 2004 a Scottish Executive Working Group recommended anti-gay hate crime legislation was introduced - but last year the Executive announced it would not follow the recommendation.
3. In England and Wales , Section 146 of the Criminal Justice Act 2003, which came into effect in April 2003, gives courts the power to impose tougher sentences for offences motivated or aggravated by the victim's sexual orientation. Where an attack was motivated by hostility or prejudice based on disability or sexual orientation, the judge must treat this as an aggravating factor, and state in open court any extra elements of the sentence given for the aggravation. These powers were used for the first time when the killers of south London barman Jody Dobrowski were sentenced to 28 years imprisonment.
4. In Scotland , the offence of racially aggravated harassment was introduced in the Crime and Disorder Act 1998. The same Act includes a provision for the courts to increase the sentence when any criminal offence is aggravated by racial prejudice. The Criminal Justice ( Scotland ) Act 2003 includes a similar provision for offences aggravated by religious prejudice.
5. In the last calendar year in the Lothian and Borders area, there were more than twice as many reported incidents of homophobic hate crime as faith based incidents - 75 homophobic incidents compared to 36 faith based. But there is a statutory aggravation for faith based hate crimes, and none for those based on sexual orientation.
back to top