Commons Sense

House of Commons · Ministers' Questions

Transgender Prisoners

Wednesday 12 January 2022 · 2 questions

Summarised by AI from the official record, so it can contain mistakes.

Read the full transcript on Parliament.uk

At a glance

Answered 2 Partly answered 0 Not answered 0

Key points

  • Government policy involves a rigorous risk assessment before placing transgender women in female prisons.
  • Protection of women is a paramount consideration when dealing with the placement of transgender offenders.
  • Safety of all prisoners, including the vulnerabilities of female prisoners, is fundamental to the Ministry of Justice.

Topics (select to filter)

Questions & Answers

Q1 Tim Loughton Con
Justice & Courts Women & Equalities
Context

The issue of placing transgender women who have committed sexual offenses into the prison system, specifically whether they should be placed in female prisons.

Question

What is the Government's policy on placing transgender women with sexual abuse convictions in female prisons?

Answer from James Cartlidge

Transgender women can be allocated to women's prisons only following a rigorous risk assessment, with particular consideration given to the type of offence they have committed and the risk that they pose to others. The result is that well over 90% of transgender women in prison are held in the men's estate, and there have been no assaults or sexual assaults carried out by transgender women in the women's estate since we strengthened our approach in 2019. Just to emphasise, there is an exemption to the Equality Act 2010 requirement not to discriminate against transgender people in relation to single-sex spaces where doing so is a proportionate means of achieving a legitimate aim. Prisons can and do rely on that exemption.

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Q2 Tim Loughton Con
Justice & Courts
Context

The question arises from the concern over protecting women when dealing with the placement of transgender offenders who have a history of sexual offenses against women.

Question

Does he agree that the protection of women is of paramount consideration when dealing with the placement of transgender offenders in the prison system? On what basis would a male-born prisoner with a record of sex offences against women who now identifies as a transgender woman be placed in a women-only prison?

Answer from James Cartlidge

My hon. Friend makes an excellent point. Just to be clear, the safety of all prisoners is of fundamental importance to the Ministry of Justice and Her Majesty's Prison and Probation Service, and we are particularly aware of the vulnerabilities of many female prisoners. Transgender women who want to move to a women's prison will be risk-assessed by an expert multidisciplinary panel chaired by a senior prison manager. The panel will consider an individual's offending history, their anatomy, their behaviour in custody and their use of medication related to gender reassignment, as well as the risk posed to individuals.

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