Are female prisoners at risk from transgender inmates?
by James Kirkup, Spectator:
Earlier this week, it was reported that an inmate in HM Prison New Hall, a women’s prison, had been charged with sexually assaulting four female inmates. According to the Sun, the inmate is transgender. Born male and still possessing male anatomy including male genitals, she now identifies as female. Because of that “identification”, the inmate was housed in the female prison estate; in broad terms, the Ministry of Justice says that transgender prisoners should be housed in the part of the prison system that corresponds to their gender identity.
That policy has many implications, one of which is that it is possible for a person with male anatomy, hormones and outlook, to be confined in prison with inmates who are anatomically female. The reasons behind that policy are simple and in some cases noble. Transgender people suffer enormous prejudice and unkindness, from individuals, society and the state; anyone who wants to address those injustices is aiming at the right target. But having the right ends does not justify indifference to the means of obtaining them, nor to the consequences of actions taken in pursuit of those ends. Trying to do better for transgender people in the prison system is a good thing to do, but it is not a simple one.
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