Blanket rule on trans women in men's prisons would deny their identity, says Scottish government

"A blanket rule to house transgender women in men's prisons, even when they pose no risk to others, would be a fundamental denial of their identity, the Scottish government has argued. Placing a trans inmate in a prison that does not align with their lived gender runs counter to the aims of rehabilitation, Gerry Moynihan KC said on Thursday as he set out Scottish ministers' position that a blanket rule on where prisoners are housed could contravene obligations under the European convention on human rights."

"Where a transgender prisoner does not pose an article 8 problem, does not threaten the rights of others are we to have an absolute rule that says that they must be accommodated in a prison of their sex? Why? The sole reason is that they are to be classified as a man. Even though they live their lives as a woman. It's a fundamental denial of their choice of gender. And it's a fundamental denial driven only by semantics."

A blanket rule requiring transgender women to be housed in men's prisons, even when they pose no risk, would fundamentally deny their gender identity and undermine rehabilitation. Scottish ministers contend that housing decisions should follow individual risk assessments and that an absolute rule could contravene obligations under the European Convention on Human Rights. For Women Scotland challenges guidance allowing placement by individual assessment, citing the supreme court's ruling on equalities law definitions of sex. Ministers warn that misaligned housing can increase suicide risk among transgender prisoners and that the supreme court decision was limited to the Equality Act context.

Read at www.theguardian.com