Misgendering ‘will not be a crime’ under hate speech Bill
McEntee says legislation will punish those inciting hatred and violence
JUSTICE Minister Helen McEntee has said misgendering someone will not be a crime under the proposed Hate Speech Bill.
Speaking yesterday, Ms McEntee said calling someone by their non-preferred pronouns at the workplace will not result in any prosecution.
The minister was responding after a university lecturer criticised a new gender identity policy at her workplace. That policy directive informed staff that it was unlawful to misgender someone.
The lecturer at South East Technological University (SETU), Colette Colfer, said while she supports the main tenets of the new policy, she was deeply concerned about the effective ‘policing of language’.
She previously said: ‘I just want to really stress that I support the aims and inclusions of the Gender Identity and Expression policy that was launched last week.
‘I think every student and staff member, and indeed visitor who comes to SETU or any higher education institution should be treated with equal respect.
‘I think it’s really important that everybody is treated with dignity and equally.
‘My objection to the policy is on the grounds that it states that to refuse to use preferred pronouns or names is an example of unlawful discrimination or harassment.
‘I’ve huge concerns about that,’ she told Newstalk radio.
However, Ms McEntee said that this will not be the case if her controversial bill, which has garnered both national and international attention, goes ahead.
She said some people will be aware that she is going ‘to introduce hate crime legislation for the first time’ as well as updating the ‘incitement to hatred legislation that we already have but that is quite ineffective’.
However, she added: ‘What I’ve been clear about is that misgendering somebody will not be a crime. What we’re talking about is inciting hatred or violence about another group of people, and that is a very different threshold.’
When it was put to the minister that the university’s directive was therefore incorrect, she said: ‘What a university decides to do is separate to what the law may or may not be. At the moment it is not unlawful and I’m clear about that. If we introduce this law, it won’t be.
‘[The new hate speech law] is where people are inciting hatred and violence against another group of people and that is a much higher threshold.’
The Bill has already been voted through the Dáil and is now due to go to the committee stage.
Opponents of the Bill have raised concerns about freedom of speech, as well as about the idea of a ‘thought crime’ becoming illegal. This is where people could be prosecuted for having books or materials in their home which could be seen to be examples of hatred towards a community.
Speaking earlier this year, Taoiseach Leo Varadkar said there was a real need for this legislation.
He said: ‘We are seeing a rise in racism. That’s very evident to me. And, you know, people protesting outside accommodation centres, people spreading conspiracy theories around replacement ideology – all this kind of nonsense.
‘And then people, you know, actually using violence against people who are of a different colour or of a different ethnic background, and that’s a matter of real concern.
‘It is one of the reasons why we have a national strategy against racism and it’s one of the reasons why I do think we need to have hate legislation,’ he said.
‘Effective policing of language’
‘It is not unlawful. I am clear on that’
‘I see some people dismissing hate crimes as being wokeism or, you know, domestic and genderbased violence as being some form of wokeism.
‘I totally disagree with that view of things. A murder is a serious crime and assault is a serious crime. Hate crime is a serious crime. Crime against women and men that’s gender-based or sexual, these are all serious crimes and we need to treat them all seriously,’ the Taoiseach said.