Humza Yousaf attacks JK Rowling over ‘ludicrous’ objections to misogyny law
Humza Yousaf has hit back at JK Rowling over her “ludicrous” outspoken attack on his plans to ensure biological men identifying as female are protected by a new misogyny law.
The Harry Potter author accused Mr Yousaf of displaying “absolute contempt for women” on Tuesday after he said transgender women would fall within the scope of the legislation.
Rowling argued that males were set to receive “double protection” as a result, in addition to the defence for trans people provided by the SNP’s controversial hate crime laws.
But the First Minister said this argument was “as ludicrous as being upset that a disabled, black woman has triple protection under the law.”
He insisted that extending the law to transgender people did not diminish the protection being offered to women as he hit out at “bad faith actors” who are “intent on turning every issue into a culture war”.
Mr Yousaf also accused them of “deliberate disinformation” and argued it made no “logical sense” for Rowling to accuse a government bringing forward misogyny legislation of having no respect for women.
The new hate crime laws, which came into force in Scotland on Apr 1, gives protection against people “stirring up hatred” on the basis of age, disability, race, religion, sexual orientation or transgender identity.
However, sex was not included and Mr Yousaf has said separate misogyny legislation will be introduced instead.
The Scottish Government proposed outlawing “abusive and humiliating” male behaviour in a consultation published last year.
This could include men who loudly boast about their sexual conquests, watching pornography where others could see it or having “loud, graphic sexual conversations about women in a public place where they can be heard by others”.
A new offence of “misogynistic harassment”, an offence could be committed if a man shouts sexually abusive remarks at a woman in the street or uses abusive language “to a girl who does not want to be ‘chatted up’”.
Mr Yousaf took to X, formerly Twitter, to hit back at Rowling’s argument that trans women should not be included in the legislation.
He said: “The faux outrage claiming trans women have double protection under the law because of who they are is as ludicrous as being upset that a disabled, black woman has triple protection under the law.
“It in no way diminishes protection against misogyny for those who are born women. Bad faith actors are intent on turning every issue into a culture war. Let’s not allow them to divide our society into those who are worthy of protection from hatred and those who are not.”
The First Minister said that the legislation a of the accused, rather than the status of the victim.
“If a man threatens to rape a woman, he is unlikely to know if the victim is born a woman or a trans woman. That behaviour should logically be seen as misogynistic,” he added.
Pressed on Rowling’s attack, Mr Yousaf told LBC: “It’s an astonishing accusation that to suggest that a government is bringing forward a bill to tackle misogyny has contempt for women – it doesn’t make any logical sense.”
But Rishi Sunak said the SNP should stop “obsessing” about independence and “trying to lock up JK Rowling”.
Ridiculed claims
Only hours after the hate crime laws came into force, Rowling posted pictures of 10 high-profile trans people and ridiculed their claims to be women.
She then challenged Police Scotland to arrest her but the force rejected the ‘misgendering’ complaints lodged against her.
Stephen Flynn, the SNP’s Westminster leader, used Prime Minister’s Questions to ask Mr Sunak whether he welcomed Labour’s support for “denying” Scots another independence referendum.
He replied: “We did have a democratic vote on that topic.
“But what I would suggest to the SNP is that rather than obsessing about independence and indeed wasting time cracking down on free speech and trying to lock up JK Rowling, he should focus on what the people in Scotland actually care about - schools, hospitals, jobs, and our new tax cuts.”
