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New figures from the UK Ministry of Justice reveal that 74% of transgender inmates in Britain have been convicted of sex offenses.
Of the 244 transgender prisoners, 181 had convictions for crimes such as rape and child sexual assault.
While most biologically male transgender inmates are housed in men’s prisons, there is controversy around placing them in women’s facilities.
Interviews with former prisoners and officials suggested that even without physical violence, male inmates make women feel unsafe through threats, bullying and harassment.
An insider reported, “She was not huge but very athletic and very strong and had all the physical features of a man. She was a bully and was very threatening and intimidating.”
“The belief that she should have been housed in a male prison was unanimous, not just among the prisoners but also the staff,” she continued.
Former prison governor Rhona Hotchkiss said, “It is always an issue to have males who identify as women in women’s prisons. It’s not necessarily always the physical threat that they experience but the re-traumatization because many women in prison are already traumatized at the hands of men. They are also faced with constant gaslighting when they are forced to call these men ‘she’.
She added, “The vast majority of men who identify as transgender in prison did not do so before they came into contact with the justice system.”
Maya Forstater, executive director for Sex Matters, said, “The presence of men in women’s prisons immediately makes every female inmate feel unsafe. Even if men do not commit actual violence, they may threaten, bully and sexually harass women.
“Their very presence is intimidating. This testimony is important and HM Prisons must take heed. It has already implemented policies that keep many trans-identifying men out of women’s prisons, but it needs to finish the job and ensure all prisons are truly single-sex,” she continued.
Experts argue prisons need to remain single-sex to avoid re-traumatizing female inmates and that most men who identify as transgender do so after contact with the criminal justice system.
A Ministry of Justice spokesman said, “Well over 90 per cent of transgender women in custody are held in the men’s estate.”
Their statement continued, “We changed the rules last year so transgender women who’ve been convicted of sexual or violent offences – or who retain male genitalia – cannot be held in a women’s prison unless in truly exceptional circumstances.”
The issue of housing sex offenders in women’s prisons has been a long-standing controversy in the UK.
