JK Rowling hit out at Humza Yousaf after he confirmed trans women will be protected by a new misogyny law.
The Scottish First Minister insisted that “anyone affected” by misogyny would be covered whatever their biological sex.
In a post on X, the Harry Potter author said: “Once again, Humza Yousaf makes his absolute contempt for women and their rights clear.
“Women were excluded from his nonsensical hate crime law, now he introduces a ‘misogyny law’ designed to also protect men.”
Rowling shared a link to an article reporting the Scottish Greens had suspended trans woman Rose Douglas, who was convener of the party’s LGBT wing, over allegations of abusive social media posts.
The author added: “Trans-identified men have sent violent threats to women but the likes of Beth Douglas (attached) now receive double protection from Yousaf: for his so-called gender identity, and for also being, in the eyes of the Scottish government, a woman.”
The Scottish Government wants to introduce a bill to tackle misogyny before the end of the current parliamentary term in 2026 following a review carried out by human rights lawyer Baroness Helena Kennedy KC.
Speaking yesterday, Mr Yousaf told the BBC’s Good Morning Scotland programme: “Women and girls will be protected and, of course, trans women will also be protected, as well, because they will often also be the ones who suffer from threats of rape, for example, or threats of disfigurement.”
The SNP leader pledged to “put some urgency and pace” into the legislation.
Women were not included in controversial new hate crime legislation which came into force earlier this month.
Rowling has been a fierce critic of the Hate Crime and Public Order (Scotland) Act 2021.
