The Zhoosh! Brighton Blog
New incitement law – Great, but what does it mean?
Post by Nick Antjoule LGBT Police Liasion Officer)
You may have seen the news that incitement to hatred on the grounds of sexual orientation is now a criminal offence. While this is what many people have fought for, it has left some people scratching their heads about exactly what that means.
Who does it cover?
The Criminal Justice and Immigration Act essentially outlaws behaving in a way that is threatening and intends to stir up hatred against people because of their sexual orientation. This protects lesbian, gay, bisexual and heterosexual people while preserving legitimate freedom of speech. The level of evidence needed to bring a case to court is very high which means it will not be used often, but it affords a valuable new protection.
Why aren’t trans people included?
It doesn’t include trans people but the government has said it would consider introducing a similar offence if evidence emerges that hatred is being stirred up against them in a way that isn’t covered by existing laws.
What does it cover?
It outlaws threatening conduct or materials intended to stir up hatred. This might include use of words or behaviour, displaying or distributing written material or a recording, performing a play, or possessing inflammatory material.
What are the limitations?
The law assumes that hatred is a very strong emotion and so does not include stirring up ridicule, dislike or generally causing offence. There are already a number of laws that prevent homophobic abuse or people encouraging violence.
What doesn’t it cover?
The new offence would not usually cover jokes about lesbian, gay or bisexual people, preaching of religious doctrine or insults in the playground. It also cant be used against someone where the behaviour is inside their home where they cant expect other people to see or hear it.
What about the ‘free speech clause’
There has been a lot of debate about a part of the Act which says that criticism of sexual practices or urging people to refrain from certain activities is not in itself threatening. This doesn’t have any substantive impact on what the law can cover. If criticism in a particular case was found to be threatening and stirred up hatred, then the offence would apply.
You can report hate incidents or crime by calling Sussex police on 0845 6070999. In an emergency call 999.
For informal and confidential advice you can call Brighton’s LGBT Liaison officer on 07799 347114
Find out more about the LGBT work of Sussex Police at www.sussex.police.uk/lgbt/brighton
