Woman arrested for misgendering a trans person on Twitter charged with trolling
Stephanie Hayden (left), a trans woman, was repeatedly misgendered by Kate Scottow. (Twitter/MailOnline)
Police have charged a mother in the UK for malicious communication after she referred to a trans woman as man on Twitter in a “campaign of targeted harassment”.
Authorities arrested Kate Scottow, 38, in December 2018 in her home in Hitchin, Hertfordshire.
She will soon face magistrates charged with malicious communications after making transphobic comments towards trans rights campaigner Stephanie Hayden.
According to the Daily Mail, the Crown Prosecution Service said Scottow was charged over “‘persistent” messages designed to cause “annoyance, inconvenience, or needless anxiety” between September 2018 and May 2019.
Hertfordshire Police arrested her in front of her two young children, according to The Sun.
She was detained at home and locked in a cell after allegedly misgendering Hayden.
Scottow will face the courts in Stevenage on 18 September.
Mother arrested in front of children for trolling.
The mum described being arrested on online forum Mumsnet in February.
She wrote: “I was arrested in my home by three officers, with my autistic ten-year-old daughter and breastfed 20-month-old son present.
“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.”
A Crown Prosecution Service spokesman said: “We made the decision to charge Katherine Scottow after reviewing a file of evidence from Hertfordshire Police relating to social media posts.
“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.”
What happened?
Details of Scottow’s case were originally revealed to The Mail on Sunday in February, of which Hayden, a lawyer, heavily criticised.
High Court papers obtained by The Mail on Sunday detailed how Scottow was accused of a “campaign of targeted harassment” against Hayden.
Scottow used two Twitter account to “harass, defame, and publish derogatory and defamatory tweets”, according to the paper.
However, Hayden posted a statement on Twitter on Tuesday (February 12), claiming that the police arrest, in fact, stemmed from Scottow allegedly sharing “confidential details of my personal medical and financial information” on social media.
Moreover, Hayden slammed the original report in The Mail on Sunday as an example of “grossly irresponsibly reporting”.
“It has whipped up a public frenzy designed to target me, a transgender woman, who is legally recognised by the state as a woman, for abuse and ridicule,” she told PinkNews.
She continued: “I believe that The Mail on Sunday has defamed me, exposed me to harassment, and did not even extend to me the courtesy of giving me advance notice of the story and/or allowing me any right of reply.”
