U.K. Deputy Defense Minister Dominic Raab announced that transgender women inmates will be banned from female prisons in England and Wales if they have violent convictions, adding to similar bans concerning those with male genitalia and sex offenders, according to BBC News, a policy not held by most U.S. states.
Raab revealed the prohibitions on transgender women inmates with male genitalia and sex offenses from female prisons in October, recently indicating the policy would be effective Monday and include transgender women convicted of violent crimes, the outlet reported. Inmates can only be considered for exemption from this policy in the “most exceptional cases” with ministerial approval, including low-risk-assessed inmates already in female prisons, according to the government.
LONDON, ENGLAND – FEBRUARY 27: Dominic Raab, Deputy Prime Minister and Secretary of State for Justice, arrives at Downing Street on the day that Britain’s Prime Minister Rishi Sunak met with European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen on February 27, 2023 in London, England. Hollie Adams/Getty Images
Few U.S. states have explicitly banned violent criminals who identify as transgender women from female prisons. Maine and California have set up official policies allowing transgender inmates to be placed in prisons based on their gender identity, while more than 35 other states have fallen in line with federal guidelines telling agencies to “consider on a case-by-case basis whether a placement would ensure the inmate‘s health and safety, and whether the placement would present management or security problems,” according to Transgender Law Center data cited by NPR and the outlet’s own reporting.
Raab insisted that the new regulations for England and Wales were not created due to 31-year-old convicted rapist Isla Bryson’s case, BBC News reported.
Formerly known as Adam Graham, Bryson started identifying as a woman and was moved to a Scottish women’s prison while awaiting trial for two rapes that Bryson was ultimately found guilty of in January, a move that sparked public anger, according to the outlet. Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon declared that Bryson’s rape sentence would not be served at Cornton Vale in the “short-term or long-term,” the Telegraph reported.
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