“Serious Safety Concerns” as Trans Criminals Remain in Women’s Prison Despite Supreme Court Ruling

Male trans criminals are still being held in a women’s prison despite the Supreme Court ruling that sexes must be segregated, with the independent monitor reporting serious safety and welfare concerns. The Telegraph has the story.

Ministers have admitted that five trans women – biological men – are being held in the E Wing of HMP Downview in Surrey, despite concerns they could pose a risk to female prisoners.

Labour activists have now urged David Lammy, the new Justice Secretary, to close the wing for trans prisoners, which they say is not effectively separated from the women in the rest of the building, and move them to the male estate.

They also said the presence of trans prisoners violated April’s Supreme Court ruling that segregation between men and women should be on the basis of biological sex rather than the gender they identify as.

A spokesman for Labour Women’s Declaration, which campaigns for sex-based rights, said: “Vulnerable female prisoners must be prioritised.

“Housing male offenders, regardless of how they identify, in the female estate violates the rights and safety of women prisoners and breaches the Supreme Court ruling.

“It has now been five months since it was clarified that sex in the Equality Act 2010 refers to biological sex.

“If he chooses to act decisively, Secretary of State for Justice David Lammy has an important opportunity to both ensure the safety of women in custody and reaffirm Labour’s commitment to defending women’s rights. We trust he will make the right choice”.

The presence of biological men in women’s jails will revive memories of the case of Adam Graham, who transitioned to live as a woman and began to go by Isla Bryson, after he had been charged with rape. He was later placed in a female prison in Scotland.

A Parliamentary question by Rebecca Paul, a Tory MP, earlier this month revealed there have been seven biologically male prisoners placed in E Wing since the middle of last year, with five there at present.

But HMP Downview’s independent monitoring board has reported serious safety and welfare concerns, including a shortage of staff to cover one-to-one supervision of the male prisoners when they are mixing with the women prisoners.

Worth reading in full.