"Aidan O'Neill KC challenged the Scottish government's position that having a blanket rule for where prisoners are housed could contravene obligation under the European convention on human rights. There is no case law from Strasbourg which says that trans-identifying male prisoners have to be accommodated within the women's prison estate, he said. What the Scottish ministers are asking the court to do is to go beyond where the European court of human rights has reached on this point."
"For Women Scotland is challenging guidance that says trans prisoners should be housed according to individual risk assessment, which the group argues is contrary to the supreme court's ruling on women-only spaces. For Women Scotland brought the original challenge that resulted in last April's landmark ruling that the definition of woman in equalities law refers to biological sex alone. The UK government is still considering new guidance on how public bodies and businesses should apply the ruling to the exclusion or inclusion of transgender women in women-only spaces."
Female prisoners face increased risk after Scottish guidance allows some transgender inmates to be housed in female prisons based on individual risk assessments. For Women Scotland is legally challenging that guidance as contrary to the supreme court's ruling that the definition of woman in equalities law refers to biological sex alone. The Scottish government argues that a blanket rule could breach obligations under the European Convention on Human Rights and points to a lack of Strasbourg case law requiring placement of trans-identifying male prisoners in women's prisons. The Scottish Prison Service reported 19 transgender inmates as of June 2025, with 80% accommodated according to biological sex.
Read at www.theguardian.com
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