# Hate Crime and Public Order (Scotland) Act 2021, Section 11: Meaning of the characteristics


(1) This section applies for the interpretation of sections 1, 4 and 9.
(2) A reference to age includes a reference to an age range.
(3) A disability is a physical or mental impairment of any kind.
(4) For the purposes of subsection (3) (but without prejudice to its generality), a medical condition which has, has had, or may have a substantial or long-term effect, or is of a progressive nature, is to be regarded as amounting to an impairment.
(5) A group defined by reference to religion is a group of persons defined by reference to—
(a) religious belief or lack of religious belief,
(b) membership of or adherence to a church or religious organisation,
(c) support for the culture or traditions of a church or religious organisation,
(d) participation in activities associated with such a culture or such traditions.
(6) A reference to sexual orientation is a reference to sexual orientation towards—
(a) persons of the same sex,
(b) persons of a different sex, or
(c) both persons of the same sex and persons of a different sex.
(7) A person is a member of a group defined by reference to transgender identity if the person is—
(a) a female-to-male transgender person,
(b) a male-to-female transgender person,
(c) a non-binary person,
(d) a person who cross-dresses,
and references to transgender identity are to be construed accordingly.
(8) A person is a member of a group defined by reference to variations in sex characteristics if the person is born with physical and biological sex characteristics which, taken as a whole, are neither—
(a) those typically associated with males, nor
(b) those typically associated with females,
and references to variations in sex characteristics are to be construed accordingly.

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Source: https://www.legislation.gov.uk/asp/2021/14/section/11 (the official version)
Page: https://openlegislation.uk/hate-crime-and-public-order-scotland-act-2021/section-11
Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Source: legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives.