A woman has been arrested on hate crime charges after she intentionally misgendered a trans woman by calling her a man on Twitter.
Trans campaigner Stephanie Hayden reported 38-year-old mother Kate Scottow, for making numerous hateful and transphobic comments towards her online. Scottow was arrested from her Hereford home, in December of last year.
Scottow was reportedly held in a cell for seven hours before being questioned by police. She was subsequently was charged over ''persistent'' messages which were intended to cause ''annoyance, inconvenience or needless anxiety'' to another person over a number of months, according to the Crown Prosecution Service. She is now due to appear at Stevenage Magistrates’ Court on September 18.
Per British tabloid newspaper The Sun, a spokesperson for the CPS stated: "We made the decision to charge Katherine Scottow after reviewing a file of evidence from Hertfordshire Police relating to social media posts.
They added: "The Crown Prosecution Service reminds all concerned that criminal proceedings against Ms Scottow are now active and that she has a right to a fair trial. It is extremely important that there should be no reporting, commentary or sharing of information online which could in any way prejudice these proceedings."
Meanwhile, Scottow stated on Mumsnet that: "I was arrested in my home by three officers, with my autistic ten-year-old daughter and breastfed 20-month-old son present."
She added: "I was then detained for seven hours in a cell with no sanitary products (which I said I needed) before being interviewed then later released under investigation ... I was arrested for harassment and malicious communications because I called someone out and misgendered them on Twitter."
This transgender woman also wants compensation from a railway for being misgendered:The case picked up attention when British Prime Minister Boris Johnson called Scottow's arrest a waste of valuable police resources.
The Daily Mail claims that at the time of Scottow's arrest, Johnson wrote: "Is this really the right way to fight crime? Is this what our brave police officers signed up to do? Are you really telling me that it is a sensible ordering of priorities, when violence on the streets would seem to be getting out of control?"
