WOMEN who demonstrated in support of asylum seekers living in Scottish hotels have been forced to install CCTV and alter their daily routines after being threatened and followed home, The National has been told.
Karen Paton, who joined counter-protesters at the Cladhan Hotel in Falkirk last year, described her experience with Scottish anti-immigration groups as “horrifying”.
“I’ve nearly been assaulted twice now,” she said. “I’ve had to put CCTV up at my house because [the anti-immigration campaigners] drive up and down my street, which is a dead-end.
“They’ve said they’re just driving about, but I think they’re trying to intimidate me. I’ve been followed home, I’ve had to start taking detours to make sure I’m not being followed.
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“I used to get the train every day to work but I am now petrified to get off at my local station in case someone recognises my face.”
Paton also said the verbal abuse she receives at protests has been “sickening”, saying: “I’ve had groups of women shouting I deserve to be gang-raped, I’ve witnessed the way anti-immigration protesters have spoke to female police officers.
“I just want my community back, I don’t recognise Falkirk like this.”
Paton is one of many protesters who have called for buffer zones outside hotels housing asylum seekers to stop protests happening right outside.
The Scottish Government is reportedly considering the proposals, which would echo legislation preventing protests outside abortion providers brought in in 2024.
Paton added: “These people claim they are protecting women and children, but I know countless women with similar experiences.”
Another woman, who attends protests in Perth and asked not to be identified for safety reasons, said she has been a victim of a co-ordinated abuse campaign following a protest at the start of the year.
Members of an anti-immigration group had printed out pictures of her face and worn them to a protest as masks, before posting photos online of her face on a dartboard.
The abuse started after a protest on January 10, when it was reported by The Courier that anti-immigration protesters “charged” the Radisson Blu Hotel in Perth.
The campaigner was there on the day as part of the counter-protest, and alleges that following the event, the campaign of abuse against her began.
“After the protest, there were AI videos made of me. People were sharing my name, one user said I should be ‘used as a punching bag’, the abuse was truly terrifying,” she said.
Following the event, the woman decided to take a lesser role in protests, hoping this would stop the abuse she was facing. However, campaigners continued to target her.
“I attended a protest at the end of January to show my support, which is when the abuse got even worse,” she said. “I heard my name being shouted, and when I turned around they had printed [a picture of] my face and were wearing it as a mask. I believe it is done to intimidate me.”
The most recent escalation involved an anti-immigration group putting the mask of her face on a dartboard, before posting on Facebook showing darts thrown into the mask. One user commented on the post: “Where is my SA-80 rifle?”
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She reported that this triggered a panic attack for her, and is affecting her daily life. “I haven’t gone into town alone in four weeks, because they wear masks so we don’t know who they are,” she said.
“I’ve had to get a Ring [video] doorbell, I’ve had to get CCTV put up. I’ve taken a lot of safety advice from the police.”
She also noted that during protests, many anti-immigration groups wear all black, hooded clothes and often have masks on, making them hard to identify, saying: “They know who I am, but I don’t know who they are, which makes it even more daunting.”
She also claims she has seen protesters with Combat 18 clothing on when attending protests at the Cladhan Hotel in Falkirk. Combat 18 is a neo-Nazi organisation that is a proscribed terrorist organisation in some countries, though not currently in the UK.
The campaigner said Perth had had no issues with asylum seekers until inspiration was taken from groups elsewhere in Scotland and the UK.
Pete Wishart, the SNP’s depute Westminster leader and the MP for Perth and Kinross-shire, told The National the abuse by far-right protesters has been “utterly disgusting”.
He said he and First Minister John Swinney will be meeting affected women to consider further action.
Wishart said: “The abuse women have faced from far-right protesters has been utterly disgusting to see, and it lays bare the sheer hypocrisy of these men who claim to be acting in the name of women’s safety.
“It is also deeply troubling that several individuals linked to the scene have histories of domestic abuse.”
He also added it is becoming “increasingly clear” that protest buffer zones must be looked at due to the “aggressive” way that some campaigners act.
He said: “It is becoming increasingly clear that buffer zones must be looked at seriously as an option to protect everyone involved, both the individuals inside the hotels and those attending counter-protests, particularly women, given the aggressive and often violent way some of these men conduct themselves.
“John Swinney and I will be meeting women affected locally to hear their experiences directly and to consider what further action can be taken to ensure their safety and support.”
