Maya Forstater

The question of whether *these* women's safety and mental health should be compromised (versus other options for safeguarding transwomen in prison) should not be brushed aside by saying women & transwomen have been allies on other issues, surely?

I didn't say it should. I simply said we do not regulate the majority of society based on what a tiny subset may do. Should we imprison all males at birth because they're more likely than females to commit violence?

No but that is not the policy question. The policy question (in relation to prisons - but can extend to other single sex spaces/ sports etc..) - should formerly single sex spaces become mixed sex admitting people on the basis of self identified gender? That is the question.

Should male people be housed in women's prisons? The answer in Ireland has been no. The answer in the UK yes. No one is talking about imprisoning all males at birth! Why is the welfare of women in prison not a feminist issue?

That is a specific issue which, as you pointed out, can be dealt with using specific rules. You're then extrapolating out from a very niche issue to create general rules, and that is where I disagree with you.

So what is the answer on this? In the UK the policy was changed to house males in the womens estate. No assessment was done on the impact on women, and predictably women have been harmed.

It could be dealt with by specific rules (like keeping womens prisons for female people only), but it hasn't. Ditto for rape crisis centres, ditto for school changing rooms, ditto for womens sports, all allowing access for males into womens spaces by self ID in practice in the UK

It could also be dealt with using far less drastic and more proportional means. 99 people got gender recognition certs in Ireland last year. Why should the trans community, a tiny minority, be regulated on the assumption that they're all violent criminals?