Transgender women found guilty for violent crimes will be sent to male dominated prisons to serve their time

New rules coming into force in England and Wales will prevent transgender women convicted of violent crimes from being held in female prisons. The ban already applied to trans women with male genitalia or those who had committed sexual offences, as previously announced by Justice Secretary Dominic Raab. The updated rules extend the ban to trans women who have been convicted of violent crimes such as murder, attempted murder, harming a child, assault with intent to cause serious harm or injury, endangering life, and harassment. These changes will apply to all trans women regardless of whether they have a gender-recognition certificate.

The move comes after a controversy in Scotland where Isla Bryson, a trans woman convicted of raping two women, was held in Cornton Vale, Scotland’s only all-female facility. Following an outcry from the public and politicians, Bryson was moved to the male estate within days and a review was commissioned by Scottish Justice Secretary Keith Brown.

Dominic Raab said the new rules would “improve safety for prisoners” and that the UK Government wanted a “liberal, sensitive, tolerant approach” to the trans community, who he said “suffer a lot in this country” with mental health and bullying. He denied that the new policy was in reaction to Bryson’s case in Scotland, stating that the new rules had taken time to be developed carefully.

Under the previous system, there was no requirement to place transgender prisoners according to their preference, with the decision down to the results of a risk assessment. However, in Scotland, there is a presumption that trans women will be placed according to their self-declared gender identity unless there are concerns they could pose a risk.

The Ministry of Justice figures show that in the year to last March, there were 230 transgender prisoners in England and Wales, of whom 187 had a legal gender of male and 43 of female. Of the total, 181 were in male prisons and 49 were in female ones, with only six trans women in women’s jails. The new rules mean that any trans offender with male genitalia intact or who has been convicted of a sexual offence or a violent offence will not be allowed into the female prison estate.