Paddy pens cards to 700 NHS workers
Women face persecution Row after protections for trans people added to law proposals
AN AUTISTIC Scots teen has sent almost 700 cards to NHS workers after he saw them upset by Covid-19 on the news.
Paddy Joyce became overwhelmed by the virus death statistics and started to pen letters to frontline workers to help ease his anxiety.
The 17-year-old, from Glasgow, has handwritten 663 individually named cards to staff at Glasgow Royal Infirmary, below.
He hopes to send more than 5000 cards by the end of the year.
Paddy said: “I saw how sad and upset they were on the news.
“My mum said I should write to someone, so I asked her to find someone and lots of people wanted one, so I want to write to everyone.”
Pat Cruickshanks, charge nurse within the ICU, said: “Gestures like these provide a boost to keep us going. I know that everyone across the hospital is really grateful and I hope, at some point, we all get to meet Paddy to say thanks to him in person.”
In recent years, Scotland has felt like a frightening place to talk about women’s rights. Not long ago, no one would have thought it controversial to say that in some places – hospital wards, sport, school changing rooms, hostel dormitories, prison, or domestic violence shelters – men and women need separate spaces.
The debate around the gender Recognition Act changed that as lobby groups pressed the Government to accept men and women were defined not by biology but by an “identity” that could be claimed by anyone. In place of discussion, proponents of Self ID shouted “no debate” and vilified anyone who objected. This is why the Hate Crime Bill scares so many.
Despite abuse and violence faced by women, sex is not a protected category. Threats to writers such as JK Rowling and politicians like Joanna Cherry would not be classed as hate crime.
Women are in no doubt some are planning to file malicious reports and we may face investigations. Women’s rights activists are already being reported to employers, censored, or no-platformed.
Women were called “transphobic” for saying rape victims should be able to ask for female medical examiners. Last week, MSPs who spoke in the International Women’s Day debate were denounced.
Humza Yousaf says Article 10 in the European Convention of Human Rights will protect freedom of speech. This is not enough. Most people will not want to wait to be exonerated in court when the investigation is traumatic and costly.
The vicious reaction to the possible amendments to protect conversations about sex and gender revealed many hoped to use this Bill to persecute women. It will have a chilling effect on freedom of expression and it’s time to amend it before it is too late.
CONTROVERSIAL changes to hate crime legislation will be debated at the Scottish Parliament today ahead of a crucial vote.
But the Bill has sparked a row about the lack of provisions for hate crimes against women – while adding in new protections for trans people.
Proposed amendments relating to issues at the heart of the Bill, including sex, religion and gender identity, continue to divide opinion.
All categories of hate crime are on the rise in Scotland, according to official figures released last year.
The Scottish Government previously asked a senior judge to examine all existing legislation in a bid to simplify the law and make it fit for purpose in the 21st century.
It introduced the Hate Crime and Public Order Bill to Parliament in response to the recommendations – adding hatred based on a person’s age to the list of protected groups, with the potential for sex to be added in the future.
It also vowed to prosecute those with the intention of “stirring up hatred” against protected groups and abolish the offence of blasphemy, which hasn’t been prosecuted for more than 175 years.
The Government says the Bill sends a strong message that offences motivated by prejudice will be treated more seriously and “will not be tolerated by society”.
But serious concerns have been raised about freedom of speech – resulting in a last-minute public consultation on the matter.
Campaign group For Women Scotland told Holyrood’s Justice Committee it could be prosecuted over the position in takes on women’s rights in relation to transgender identity.
Meanwhile, Scottish Trans Alliance has sent a briefing to MSPs advising voting against an amendment containing items that should not be considered “abusive or threatening” including the assertion sex is a physical, binary characteristic that cannot be changed.
The Record asked both groups to outline their key arguments.