UK Expands Ban on Transgender Criminals in Female Prisons in England and Wales

Isla Bryson, 31, formerly known as Adam Graham, from Clydebank, West Dunbartonshire, arrives at the High Court in Glasgow, on Jan. 23, 2023. PA Media

The UK government has extended the scope of its rules banning some transgender criminals from female prisons in England and Wales, Justice Secretary Dominic Raab has announced.

Raab announced in October that trans women who have male genitalia or have committed sexual offences will not be held in women’s prisons. On Sunday he confirmed that the measures will come into force on Feb. 27.

He also said that he has updated the policy to include transgender women convicted of violent offences as part of the ban.

Deputy Prime Minister Dominic Raab arrives at BBC Broadcasting House in London, on Feb. 26, 2023. Stefan Rousseau/PA Media

The Cabinet minister wrote on Twitter: “Tomorrow our new transgender prisoner policy comes into force—a strengthened, common-sense framework that will improve safety for prisoners across England and Wales.

“As we have already promised, transgender women who have male genitalia or have committed sexual offences will no longer be held in women’s prisons—unless in the most exceptional cases, requiring explicit ministerial approval.

“And as of tomorrow we have gone one step further—changing our guidance so that transgender women convicted of violent offences will also no longer be held in mainstream women’s prisons.”

Rapist Sent to Female Prison

It comes after the issue of housing transgender criminals in female prisons caused a major controversy in Scotland.

Adam Graham, a transgender rapist who now uses the name “Isla Bryson,” was initially sent to a segregation unit at an all-female prison at Cornton Vale prison in Stirling.

Graham, who was jailed after being found guilty of raping two women, did not make the decision to transition until the age of 29 and is currently taking hormones and seeking surgery to complete gender reassignment.

First Minister Nicola Sturgeon during a press conference on winter pressures in the NHS, at St Andrews House in Edinburgh on Jan. 16, 2023. Lesley Martin/PA Media

Scotland First Minister Nicola Sturgeon eventually backed down and confirmed that Graham would not be held in a women’s prison after pressure from campaigners, MPs, and Downing Street.

The row escalated after it was reported that another transgender criminal’s request to move to a female jail had been rubber-stamped.

Andrew Burns, who now uses the name “Tiffany Scott,” reportedly requested a transfer to a women’s prison. The Daily Record newspaper reported in January that this request had been approved despite Burns having a history of violence and is serving an order for lifelong restriction, meaning the prisoner will only be released when no longer considered an “unmanageable risk to public safety.”

The opposition Scottish Conservatives said Burns had attacked female staff while in a men’s prison and it is “absolutely appalling” that “such a violent and dangerous criminal is set to be transferred to a women’s prison.”

Following the backlash, Scotland’s Justice Secretary Keith Brown announced an “urgent review” of the management of transgender inmates.

He said that no transgender prisoner with a history of violence against women will be placed in the women’s prison estate until the review is completed.

Scottish ‘Gender Reform’

Scotland became the UK’s first country to back a self-ID process for legally changing gender when it passed the Gender Recognition Reform (Scotland) Bill in December.

The Gender Recognition Reform (Scotland) Bill, proposed by the ruling coalition of the Scottish National Party (SNP) and the Scottish Greens, would allow individuals to change their gender identity by simply making a statutory declaration.

The age people can apply to the gender recognition process would be reduced from 18 to 16. Furthermore, the time period applicants need to live in the acquired gender would be reduced from two years to three months, with the requirement for a medical diagnosis and evidence removed.

There would be no requirement under the bill for an applicant to undergo surgery or hormone therapy and it would also simplify the process to change one’s official sex on birth certificates.

The legislation failed to become law after the UK government blocked the bill in its current form over concerns that the bill has “safety issues for women and children.” It was the first time since devolution was introduced in 1998 that the UK government had made such a move.

‘Her Penis’

Following the row, Scottish Conservative MSP Russell Findlay said: “We now have the utterly perverse situation where a Scottish court refers to someone who says he identifies as female using ‘her penis’ to rape two vulnerable women.”

In November, Findlay put forward amendments to ban sex offenders from getting a gender recognition certificate unless they could prove they had gender dysphoria, but the changes were blocked by the SNP, Scottish Labour, and Scottish Greens MSPs.

“We warned of the inevitability of this happening if the SNP’s gender self-ID law passed, but for it already to have become reality is deeply worrying and an affront to the victims,” he said.

Earlier this month, The Times of London reported that four out of five transgender inmates being held in Scotland’s only female prison are murderers.

The violent inmates are said to include Sophie Eastwood, formerly known as Daniel Eastwood, who strangled his cellmate at a young offenders’ institution in Dumfries in 2004.

Eastwood’s sentence was later increased for an attack on a prison guard before deciding in 2018 to self-identify as a woman.

The killer is now said to identify as an infant and wants all meals “blended like baby food,” the newspaper reported.

Owen Evans, Patricia Devlin, and PA Media contributed to this report.