Police, Public Order and Criminal Justice (Scotland) Act 2006

56 “Violence” and “disorder”

(1) This section applies for the purposes of this Chapter.

(2) “Violence” means violence against persons or intentional damage to property and includes—

(a) threatening violence; and

(b) doing anything which endangers the life of a person.

(3) “Disorder” includes—

(a) stirring up hatred against a group of persons based on their membership (or presumed membership) of a group defined by reference to a thing mentioned in subsection (5), or against an individual as a member of such a group;

(b) using threatening, abusive or insulting words or behaviour or disorderly behaviour;

(c) displaying any writing or other thing which is threatening, abusive or insulting.

(4) In subsection (3)(a), “presumed” means presumed by the person doing the stirring up.

(5) The things referred to in subsection (3)(a) are—

(a) colour;

(b) race;

(c) nationality (including citizenship);

(d) ethnic or national origins;

(e) membership of a religious group or of a social or cultural group with a perceived religious affiliation;

(f) sexual orientation;

(g) transgender identity;

(h) disability.

(6) In subsection (5)—

• “disability” means physical or mental impairment of any kind;

• “religious group” has the meaning given by section 74(7) of the Criminal Justice (Scotland) Act 2003 (asp 7);

• “transgender identity” means any of the following—

  (a)

  transvestism;

  (b)

  transsexualism;

  (c)

  intersexuality;

  (d)

  having, by virtue of the Gender Recognition Act 2004 (c. 7), changed gender.