All newly convicted or remanded transgender prisoners will initially be put in jails based on their birth gender, in a U-turn of Nicola Sturgeon’s self-identification policy.
The Scottish Prison Service (SPS) said on Thursday that it would not take into account a transgender prisoner’s gender identity while making an initial decision on where to place the inmate.
The reversal of policy was confirmed in an urgent review of the case of Isla Bryson, that involved a double rapist being placed in a women’s prison, sparking public outrage.
It marks a shift in previous prison service policy in Scotland, developed with the Scottish Trans Alliance, that prioritised a person’s gender identity over their biological gender.
The SPS has announced a review for every transgender person currently in custody following the Bryson case.
Bryson, who is expected to be sentenced later this month for raping two women when they were identified as Adam Graham, was moved to a male prison cell at HMP Edinburgh following the public outcry.
SPS chief executive Teresa Medhurst said in a letter: “Until these reviews are complete, any transgender person currently in custody and who has any history of violence against women – including sexual offences – will not be relocated from the male to the female estate.
“In addition, any newly convicted or remanded transgender prisoner will initially be placed in an establishment commensurate with their birth gender.”
With the latest policy update, transgender women will be housed in a male prison, regardless of whether they had previous convictions of violence against women. Their case will then be assessed before they are allocated a long-term cell.
However, in “exceptional circumstances” a transgender person could be placed in a prison that does not match their birth gender with ministerial approval.
Russell Findlay, the community safety spokesman for the Scottish Tories, said the U-turn was “extraordinary” and “appears to turn the existing trans prisoner policy on its head, effectively abandoning the principle of self-ID”.
He said Justice Secretary Keith Brown, who ordered the investigation in the Bryson case, “seems to be making it up as he goes along, changing the rules in response to every new headline”.
“Days ago, he said violent male-born prisoners would not be sent to women’s prisons. Now the SPS seem to be saying that all male-born prisoners will be banned,” he said.
The reversal has come as a setback to Ms Sturgeon’s self-identification policy, which allowed Scots to change their birth gender without having to provide any evidence.
