The Criminal Justice and Immigration Act has now become law, introducing the new offence of incitement to hatred on the grounds of sexual orientation.

Nick Antjoule, Brighton's LGBT Liaison Officer said:
"While this is what many people have fought for, it has left some people scratching their heads about exactly what that means."

Who does it cover?

"The Criminal Justice and Immigration Act essentially outlaws behaving in a way that is threatening and intends to stir up hatred against people because of their sexual orientation. This protects lesbian, gay, bisexual and heterosexual people while preserving legitimate freedom of speech. The level of evidence needed to bring a case to court is very high which means it will not be used often, but it affords a valuable new protection."

Why aren't trans people included?

"It doesn't include transgender people but the government have said it would consider introducing a similar offence if evidence emerges that hatred is being stirred up against them in a way that isn't covered by existing laws."

What does it cover?

"It outlaws threatening conduct or materials intended to stir up hatred. This might include use of words or behaviour, displaying or distributing written material or a recording, performing a play, or possessing inflammatory material."

What are the limitations?

"The law assumes that hatred is a very strong emotion and so does not include stirring up ridicule, dislike or generally causing offence. There are already a number of laws that prevent homophobic abuse or people calling for violence."

What doesn't it cover?

"The new offence would not usually cover jokes about lesbian, gay or bisexual people, preaching of religious doctrine or insults in the playground. It also cant be used against someone where the behaviour is inside their home where they cant expect other people to see or hear it."

What about the 'free speech clause'

"There has been a lot of debate about a part of the Act which says that criticism of sexual practices or urging people to refrain from certain activities is not in itself threatening. This doesn't have any direct impact on what the law can cover. If criticism in a particular case was found to be threatening and stirred up hatred, then the offence would apply."

Hate incidents or crime can be reported by calling Sussex police on 0845 6070999. In an emergency call 999.

For informal and confidential advice call Brighton's LGBT Liaison officer on 07799 347114

To find out more about the LGBT work of Sussex Police visit here.