JK Rowling invites Scottish police to arrest her for breaching new anti-hate law

“I am currently out of the country but if what I have just written is contrary to the new legislation then I look forward to being arrested as soon as I return to the birthplace of the Scottish Enlightenment,” the 58 tweeted year-old, Edinburgh-based author of Harry Potter. Rowling has been fighting for years for women’s rights, which she believes are undermined when men who identify as women can participate in women’s sports or are referred to a women’s prison if convicted by a judge.

Rowling wrote that freedom of expression is doomed in Scotland “if an accurate description of biological sex is seen as a crime.” She was referring to the new law that criminalizes ‘hate speech’. What is unique is that the perception of the declarant is central to the assessment of whether a hate crime has indeed been committed, and not an objective assessment. “Before you know it, you’ll be committing a hate crime,” reads a warning sentence in a Scottish government information video. A violation carries a maximum prison sentence of seven years.

According to First Minister Humza Yousaf of the Scottish National Party (SNP), the law is an attempt to create a more tolerant Scotland. ‘It sends a strong and clear message to victims, perpetrators, communities and society at large that offenses based on prejudice are taken seriously and will not be tolerated.’ The law concerns discrimination in the areas of age, disability, religion, sexual orientation and gender identity. Surprisingly enough, hatred towards women is not included.

Critics call the law a great danger to freedom of expression, especially because Great Britain has no written constitution that guarantees this freedom. In addition, the police will die in their work because they have promised to register and investigate every complaint, whether submitted anonymously or otherwise. On the first day, hundreds of Scots filed a complaint against Yousaf himself in protest. The politician had said during a speech in Parliament a few years ago that white people hold too many high positions in Scottish society.

Gender debate

Discussion about the law in recent months has focused on discrimination based on a person’s transgender identity. That has been a topic of fierce debate in Scotland for some time. Last year, a related debate led to the fall of then SNP leader Nicola Sturgeon. She got into trouble when a trans woman convicted of rape was sent to a women’s prison. After strong protests, this decision was revised. Rowling played an important role in this protest at the time.

During training for the new law, Police Scotland recently tackled a fictional scenario in which a woman called ‘Jo’ said trans people should be taken to the gas chamber. That was widely seen as a warning to Rowling, who is called ‘Jo’ by friends. The trans community doesn’t like Rowling. The author, who has fourteen million followers on

Leaked documents from the Scottish police have shown that actors and comedians also have to pay close attention to their words, for example during the annual Edinburgh summer festival. Comedian Al Murray has expressed his concerns. In The Guardian wrote commentator Simon Jenkins that “the land of the Reformation and the Enlightenment is on the verge of becoming a hotbed of state censorship.” What is striking about the anti-hate law is that ‘wrong’ comments made in private can also be grounds for prosecution.

Hate crime

Politicians will also have to watch their words. The Scottish Conservative Murdo Fraser already experienced this before the tightened law came into effect. Last fall, following an article on non-binary gender identity, he sent out a tweet saying that identifying as a non-binary person is as valid as identifying as a cat, adding that he doubts the government should spend time on such plans .

At the time, an activist reported a hate crime to the police. Fraser recently discovered this by chance when a complaint was also lodged against him with the Scottish Parliament’s ethics committee. According to Fraser, his tweet was a criticism of the government and not of any particular individual or group. When the new law comes into effect, a complaint like this will not only concern a ‘hate incident’, but a ‘hate crime’ that can lead to a criminal case.