Isla Bryson was convicted of two rapes in January
(Picture: PA Wire)Newly convicted or remanded transgender prisoners will initially be placed according to their sex at birth, the Scottish Prison Service (SPS) has said.
The policy change was confirmed following an urgent review ordered by Justice Secretary Keith Brown into the case of Isla Bryson, formerly known as Adam Graham.
Bryson, who will be sentenced this month after being found guilty of raping two women while a man, was initially sent to a segregation unit at an all-female prison before being moved to a male facility.
Due to this, an amendment to the SPS inclusivity policy has been made while chief executive of the SPS, Teresa Medhurst, has initiated an assessment into all transgender prisoners currently in custody.
Previous SPS guidelines stated that any transgender person taken into custody should be held in a prison that “should reflect the gender in which the person in custody is currently living”.
A policy change last month said that no newly convicted or remanded transgender person with a history of violence against women would be housed in a female prison.
The new change now means that transgender women will automatically go to a male prison regardless of whether they have previously committed violence against women.
They will then be assessed before a decision is taken on where to place them in the long-term.
The Justice Secretary said: “It is important that consideration of issues relating to the management of prisoners is measured and does not re-traumatise victims or risk unintended consequences for transgender people or individuals in the care of SPS.
"All recommendations from the review have been accepted by Ms Medhurst as chief executive and will be progressed by SPS in collaboration with others as needed.
"As confirmed in the letter, SPS will factor the learning identified from this review into its gender identity and gender reassignment (GIGR) policy review, which is ongoing.
"Pending the outcome of the GIGR policy review, measures to provide reassurance, as set out in Ms Medhurst's letter, will remain in place."
In tandem with the review into the cases of transgender prisoners, four recommendations to the Scottish Government were made in the Bryson report, including a re-evaluation into the rules around admissions for transgender people.
Ms Medhurst added: “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.”
The report into Bryson’s case found that SPS policy at the time was followed and that Bryson was kept segregated throughout their stay at Cornton Vale, Scotland’s only all-women prison.
Bryson was found guilty of raping two women in 2016 and 2019 in Clydebank and Glasgow before changing gender.
Scottish Tory community safety spokesman Russell Findlay described the publication as a "whitewash summary", adding: "We still have no idea why a double rapist was sent into a women's prison or what involvement SNP ministers had in his removal following the public backlash.
"Given the widespread concern and anger, this report should have been published and in full, not just some woolly summary.
"It is an affront to Bryson's victims that the prison service is pandering to this rapist's right as justification for their refusal to publish.
"This is typical of SNP secrecy and raises more questions than answers. It is clear that this shoddy stunt is part of the ongoing exercise in damage limitation for Nicola Sturgeon - not a sincere attempt to learn lessons."
