Part of the background to the story is the petition launched by @fairplaywomen which called for a review of the rules allowing for male prisoners who identify as women to be placed in female prisons.
https://petition.parliament.uk/petitions/228767 …
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In its response the government offered the welcome acknowledgement that many female prisoners "have been the victims of domestic violence or sexual abuse and may continue to be exceptionally vulnerable" and that this needed to be taken seriously as part of the review.
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Last week in Parliament, the minister responsible for female prisons, Edward Argar, said that the government wanted to ensure that "all female prisoners are kept safe" and "that transgender prisoners have their rights respected".https://www.theyworkforyou.com/debates/?id=2019-02-05b.164.0 …
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The Sunday Times piece confirms what some of us have known or suspected for a while: that following the Karen White case, the Prison Service has been moving some male prisoners who identify as women back to the male estate. I welcome this.
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There is also this striking revelation. If the Prison Service is expecting to be managing the needs of upwards of 1,000 transgender prisoners, it will need to rethink its current approach.pic.twitter.com/F02r8gXmHo
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Whatever happens, some basic principles are important. First off, prisons are not safe or healthy places. The most significant step to start reducing the harms of the prison system would be to reduce, significantly, the numbers of people unnecessarily imprisoned.
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Second, the protected characteristic of sex, as set out in the Equality Act, and the importance of sex-specific services and spaces for females, including female prisoners, should be defended. The current Prison Service transgender policy is undermining these protections.
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Third, all prisoners, including trans prisoners, have a right to feel safe, secure and respected. In the case of male prisoners who identify as women, this is best be achieved through distinct provision, separate from female prisoners, that caters for their needs.
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With 1000 transgender prisoners and only 4000 actual female prisoners the crime stats are going to be HUGELY skewed. Crimes must be recorded by biological sex for stats to be meaningful.
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Agree. Need for accuracy in statistics cannot be overstated. Shd be recorded as sex and how they identify.
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