Police Scotland are slammed after saying they will record rapists as women if the suspect 'identifies as female' - even if they still have a penis
- Feminists have slammed Police Scotland for plan, which would 'warp' statistics
- Critic JK Rowling tweeted: 'The Penised Individual Who Raped You Is a Woman'
- One MP who defected from the SNP said 'dogma was overriding common sense'
Police Scotland has been criticised for saying it will record rapes by offenders with a penis as being committed by a woman if the attacker 'identifies as a female'.
The 'absurd' proposal will 'warp' rape statistics and threaten women's safety by understating the threat of male violence, feminists warned.
Harry Potter author JK Rowling was among those mocking the force, tweeting: 'War is Peace. Freedom is Slavery. Ignorance is Strength. The Penised Individual Who Raped You Is a Woman.'
Her comments were a nod to George Orwell's Nineteen Eighty-Four, a dystopian novel about a regime that manages to invert the truth to control its people.
Police Scotland have said they may start recording rapists as women if they identify as female. Pictured: SNP leader Nicola Sturgeon
Harry Potter author JK Rowling was among those mocking the force, tweeting a reference to Orwell
The policy emerged after former SNP justice secretary Kenny MacAskill - who has since defected from the party - wrote to Police Scotland asking how it would deal with rapes under the SNP's new Gender Recognition Act, which will make it easier for people to self-identify as whichever sex they want.
Assistant chief constable Gary Ritchie said there were a number of scenarios where a rapist could be recorded as a woman.
They included 'where a person, born male but who identifies as a female and does not have a full gender recognition certificate and then commits rape'.
The Sexual Offences (Scotland) Act 2009 defines rape as non-consensual penetration with a penis.
Mr MacAskill, former Holyrood Justice Secretary called the move 'absurd'. He told the Scottish Sun on Sunday: 'As a lawyer for 20 years and Justice Secretary for almost eight, I've seen some legal absurdities.
'But this tops it all and is dangerous. It's physically impossible and is about dogma overriding common sense.'
The author is among many feminists who maintain that rejecting the reality of biological sex devalues women and leaves them more vulnerable to male violence
The Gender Recognition Act will remove medical checks for those seeking a gender recognition certificate and shorten the time people have to live as their new gender before it is legally recognised.
A power-sharing pact between the SNP and Scottish Greens commits them to bringing in the laws by mid-2022.
Detective Superintendent Fil Capaldi said: 'The sex/ gender identification of individuals who come into contact with the police will be based on how they present or how they self-declare, which is consistent with the values of the organisation.
'Police Scotland requires no evidence or certification as proof of biological sex or gender identity other than a person's self-declaration, unless it is pertinent to any investigation with which they are linked.'
'The penised individual who raped you is a woman': JK Rowling caught in new trans row after blasting police for saying rapists will be recorded as women if attacker identifies as female
Harry Potter author JK Rowling was today hit by fresh trolling on social media after attacking Police Scotland for saying they'll record rapists as women if they identify as female.
Sharing an article about the development, she wrote: 'War is Peace. Freedom is Slavery. Ignorance is Strength. The Penised Individual Who Raped You Is a Woman.'
Her comments were a nod to George Orwell's Nineteen Eighty-Four, a dystopian novel about a regime that manages to invert the truth to control its people.
Rowling has repeatedly faced accusations of transphobia after she mocked an online article in June 2020 which used the words 'people who menstruate' instead of 'women'.
She is among many feminists who maintain that rejecting the reality of biological sex devalues women and leaves them more vulnerable to male violence.
Her comments sparked a huge reaction on social media, with many people agreeing with the outspoken author while others accused her of 'transphobia'.
Among those backing her were feminist authors Julie Bindel and Milli Hill, and former SNP MP Tasmina Ahmed-Sheikh.
Her comments sparked a huge reaction on social media, with many people agreeing with the outspoken author (including the Labour MP Rosie Duffield, bottom) while others accused her of 'transphobia
And Labour MP Rosie Duffield tweeted: 'Call me and my sisters what you want, sideline me all you like, I still won't be silent when things like this happen to women. Thank you as always.'
But a Twitter user called 'Lemon Oreo' posted: 'You were my entire childhood. I want to understand you, but this is honestly pretty heartbreaking. I know you won't see this, but I just can't reconcile the person who gave me such happy memories with these thoughts.'
Another wrote: 'Controlling a woman's reality is a continuation of controlling a woman's body. Both are a violation of her boundaries. Only this time he gets the courts and police in on his power. Gaslighting rape victims is as low as anyone can go.'
