Independent Review of Hate Crime Legislation in Scotland

Hate crime is not a helpful concept. Hate is personal and subjective, whereas crime should be defined in terms of actions and words.

Although hate crime related to race has some plausibility (since racial origin is a given characteristic and cannot be disapproved of without arbitrary ill-will) , race is not unique in this respect. Gender, disability, age - all have some sort of a claim to special treatment. That might seem to be a good reason for giving them special treatment. In my opinion, it points to the opposite. It calls into question the whole notion of specific hate crime legislation.

The idea here seems to be to enlarge the concept of racially-aggravated conduct to embrace other groups within society. If the same criterion is used as applies to race (that harassment may be deemed to occur when a vulnerable person is exposed to "alarm or distress"), this a very slippery slope. A religiously or ideologically committed person could complain of alarm or distress merely from the fact of their beliefs being vigorously critiqued, thereby seeking to silence fair comment and free speech.

Provisions of this sort could all too easily be misused eg to characterise Christian or Muslim teaching on sexual morals as stirring up hatred against bisexual or homosexual groups.