Feminists accuse pro-trans activists of ‘intimidation’ on Scottish march
Feminists protesting against the new Scottish hate crime law have hit out at “abusive” placards displayed by pro-trans activists.
Women marching in Edinburgh against Humza Yousaf’s legislation, which critics including JK Rowling have warned could criminalise airing gender-critical beliefs, criticised the pro-trans protesters for “harassment and intimidation”.
Pictures from the march showed demonstrators draped in the trans pride flag holding abusive placards.
One sign read “trans dogs bite terfs”. The term “terfs” is used by transgender campaigners to describe women who oppose the view that gender is unfixed and can change according to how people self-identify.
Another sign suggested that lesbians are attracted to the male genitalia of transgender people, and another that they are attracted to transgender breasts.
Women Scotland, a campaign group, told The Telegraph: “It’s pure harassment and intimidation. They are deliberately going out to cause upset.
“Women are trying to talk about their lives and are being subject to torrents of sexist and homophobic abuse.”
The march was organised by Kellie-Jay Keen, a gender-critical campaigner who has led a number of Let Women Speak rallies around the world. Many of those events have attracted counter-protests by pro-trans demonstrators.
Ms Keen said her purpose was to “test the law” on the march to see how the police would handle gender-critical chants in light of the new legislation, which took effect on April 1.
