I try not to read Writer at Large, Neil Mackay, but that headline sneakily telling those who pay attention that he didn’t say that but that he’d like to suggest it’s actually true, needs a rebuttal.

He even writes:

What do those supposed UK data, almost certainly England & Wales data, have to do with an article clearly headlined as being about Scotland? Shoddy, lazy, dishonest?

How about some facts?

Cases reported to the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service in 2020-21 compared to 2019-20, show a statistically insignificant increase in hate crimes relating to sexual orientation . We don’t know the 2021-2022 figures yet. The word ‘homophobia’ appears nowhere in the statistics. There are no figures to support the headline claim.

Of particular interest for the young LGBT Scots Mackay writes about, there was:

A slight decrease in transgender identity aggravated charges

https://www.gov.scot/publications/justice-analytical-services-safer-communities-justice-statistics-monthly-data-report-2022-edition/pages/5/#:~:text=Numbers%20stable%20for%20police%20recorded,disability%20and%201%25%20transgender%20identity.

and

Sexual assault, and rape & attempted rape, both fell between 2019-20 and 2020-21

https://www.gov.scot/binaries/content/documents/govscot/publications/statistics/2022/05/justice-analytical-services-safer-communities-justice-statistics-monthly-data-report-2022-edition/documents/justice-analytical-services-safer-communities-justice-statistics-monthly-data-report-2022-edition/justice-analytical-services-safer-communities-justice-statistics-monthly-data-report-2022-edition/govscot%3Adocument/justice-analytical-services-safer-communities-justice-statistics-monthly-data-report-2022-edition.pdf?forceDownload=true

Why do I try to avoid Mackay’s big reads?

If you feel like reading his sensationalist, unresearched dribble, there sadly more here:

https://talkingupscotlandtwo.com/?s=Mackay