Put trans criminals in female jails to help with their gender identity, says Scottish prison service
Trans criminals should serve time in female jails to allow them to prepare for life as women on release, according to “outrageous” new guidance for Scottish prisons.
A Scottish Prison Service (SPS) report said they should “be provided the opportunity and supported to work towards” being housed in a jail cell that “aligns with their affirmed gender”.
This would mean that “on release to the community, they have had the opportunity to live with those who share their affirmed gender,” the guidance said.
A controversial SPS policy was unveiled last week whereby even trans criminals with a history of violence against women could be housed in a female prison if there was “compelling” evidence they did not pose “an unacceptable risk of harm”.
But the detailed guidance on its operation stated that even those deemed too dangerous to be housed in women’s prison could still be allowed to mingle with female inmates in other settings.
It said “there may be other ways of supporting their gender identity, for example through access to work parties, activities, or even programmes with others of their gender identity”.
Women’s rights campaigners and the Tories have warned the new policy drastically waters down protections for female inmates introduced following the Isla Bryson scandal earlier this year.
In a major climbdown after the transgender rapist was initially placed in a female prison, the SNP announced in February that it would base decisions on where to send new prisoners entirely on their biological sex.
New protocols
Kate Coleman, of the campaign group Keep Prisons Single Sex, said: “I am horrified at the suggestion that male prisoners who even the SPS deem to be unsafe for the female estate should nevertheless be able to access activities in women’s prisons for reasons that include being able to practise being a woman.
“This is an outrage. I am disgusted that this policy, as inadequate to ensure the safety of women as it is, appears to be hiding a reality that is far more sinister in the danger that it presents to female offenders.”
Under the new protocol, being introduced on February 26, 2024, trans offenders would “not be eligible to be considered for admission or transfer to a women’s prison” if they had been convicted, or were awaiting trial or sentencing for a series of crimes such as murder and rape.
However, the policy states that a trans criminal who committed such a crime against a woman could still be transferred to a female prison if a “risk management team” and “executive panel” gave the move the green light.
Further details were provided in an equality and human rights impact assessment published by the SPS, which stated that they should be housed in a female prison to help them live in their “affirmed gender” after release.
‘Coercive relationships’
The report admitted that concerns had been expressed about the safety of women “being housed alongside someone with the strength of a person who was assigned male at birth and who has gone through male puberty”.
Further fears were raised about trans criminals “initiating coercive relationships, and the risk of pregnancy with non-transgender women”.
But it said that predatory and violent behaviour towards women in prison “also came from other women” and that it was “stigmatising to suggest that only transgender women are a threat”.
An SPS spokesman said: “Our new policy supports the health, safety, and wellbeing of all people living and working in Scotland’s prisons, by taking an individualised approach to the admission, placement, and management of transgender people.
“We will carefully consider a range of factors, including offending history, with a particular focus on violence against women and girls, when assessing risk.”
