Sex-based hostility should be hate speech, recommends report
- Published
People who stir up hostility on the basis of sex or gender should be prosecuted for hate speech, a review carried out for the government says.
The Law Commission argued this was needed in England and Wales to combat a "growing threat" of "extreme misogyny".
But it did not suggest treating other offences motivated by anti-women prejudice as hate crimes, which has angered campaign groups.
The Home Office promised to look "carefully" at the proposals.
The commission - an independent body that advises government - also recommended changing hate crime laws to give disabled and LGBTQ+ victims the same protections as those targeted over their race or religion.
And it suggested ministers set up a review into the need for a specific offence of public sexual harassment.
The commission said extending hate speech laws to cover sex or gender would cover "threatening or abusive material which incites and glorifies violence, including sexual violence, against women and girls, and praises men who murder women".
It added its recommendations would not criminalise merely "offensive" comments, or the telling of sexist jokes.
The legislation on stirring up hatred applies to cases relating to groups, rather than specific individuals. The commission says currently typically fewer than 10 cases a year are prosecuted.
It also recommended extending hate speech laws to cover sexual orientation, disability and transgender identity. Currently, only racial and religious hostility are covered.
Hate speech and hate crimes
Hate crimes are where victims are targeted because of one or more "protected characteristics"
They can be prosecuted as "aggravated" versions of an offence, carrying a higher maximum sentence
Alternatively, sentencing law gives judges enhanced powers to hand out stronger punishments
The existing offence of stirring up hatred based on "protected characteristics" counts as hate speech
Prosecuting someone for stirring up hatred currently requires the consent of the attorney-general
The commission also said sexual orientation, disability and transgender identity should also be covered by hate crime laws.
However, it did not recommend the same for offences motivated by hostility to people's sex and gender.
It expressed concern that this would make crimes such as sexual offences and domestic abuse harder to prosecute, and create "hierarchies" of victims.
It added that the move could be "counterproductive", and would be "the wrong solution to a very real problem."
However, it did suggest ministers should look at creating a new offence for public sexual harassment - arguing that reaching the threshold to prosecute this under existing public order laws is too difficult.
'Disappointed and frustrated'
Several groups accused the commission of performing a U-turn, as it had recommended in another report last year that misogyny should be treated in the same way as other discrimination when it was the motivation for offences.
A joint response to the commission's report by several women's rights and anti-hate organisations and campaigners said many women would be left "disappointed and frustrated" by it not calling for misogyny to be made a specific hate crime.
"By not joining together hate crime legislation, it especially ignores the experiences of women from minority communities who experience hatred based on multiple factors yet all too are let down by the criminal justice system because they do not fit their tick-boxes," it added.
'Injustice'
However, a spokesperson for one of the groups - the LGBTQ+ charity Stonewall - also called the report "a huge leap forward for the safety of LGBTQ+ people in the UK", adding: "The proposals will also extend existing laws against stirring up hatred to protect trans identities.
"This sends out a powerful message that, while any of us can believe what we want, this does not represent a green light to attack or stir up hatred about trans people."
For Labour, shadow equalities secretary Anneliese Dodds said giving extra protections to LGBTQ+ and disabled victims of hate crimes would "fix an injustice that saw perpetrators... get off with lighter sentences".
Her party colleague, shadow justice secretary Steve Reed, argued Labour's plan to make misogyny a "specific form of hate crime" would allow prosecution of "anyone who targets women on the basis of who they are".
A Home Office spokesperson said: "We are grateful to the Law Commission for the detailed consideration it has given to its review of hate crime laws.
"The government will consider its proposals carefully and respond to the recommendations in due course."