Currently, the law treats a criminal offence as more serious if the victim is targeted for one of five protected characteristics―race, religion, sexual orientation, disability and transgender identity. The Commission proposes adding sex or gender to the list, primarily to protect women from crimes linked to misogyny.
The extra category would be added as part of an overhaul of hate crime laws, which the Commission says is inconsistent and lacking in clarity.
The Commission is considering including other characteristics, such as age. It also wants to expand the offence of racist chanting at football matches to cover homophobic chanting and behaviour such as gestures and throwing missiles at players.
Professor Penney Lewis, Criminal Law Commissioner, said: ‘Hate crime has no place in our society.’
Dr Loretta Trickett, Associate Professor at Nottingham Law School said: ‘The Law Commission recommendations that sex or gender become a protected characteristic under hate crime law will be welcome by many in the UK. It means that existing criminal offences such as public order, assaults, harassment and criminal damage can be treated more seriously if targeted against someone on the basis of their sex or gender.
‘The obvious example is misogyny against women and girls which fuels their harassment and abuse and has for too long limited their use of public and virtual spaces. Misogyny is a root case of violence against women and girls and is a social problem that requires eradication and the law needs to take a lead on this. This will now help inform a longer-term educational drive to eliminate misogyny against women and girls enabling them to partake in public life with fear of abuse and harassment simply because of their gender.’
View the consultation, ‘Hate crime’, which ends on 24 December, at: www.lawcom.gov.uk/project/hate-crime.
