Transitioning in custody is a very slow process
For over a decade, the Scottish Trans Alliance has been working closely with the Scottish Prison Service and Violence Against Women organisations to ensure progress on transgender equality is never at the expense of women’s safety.
One of our Scottish Trans Alliance staff has more than 20 years’ experience as a prison officer so we’re not naive about the complexities involved in managing trans people in custody.
Comprehensive individualised risk assessment rightly forms the core of Scottish Prison Service decision-making about transgender prisoners.
Transitioning in custody is a very slow process where even a request for different clothes requires a risk assessment and case conference.
Searching and housing decisions are made extremely carefully and the safety of all prisoners and staff is the highest priority.
Searches are a stressful part of a prison officer’s job but staff are never on their own and have the power to place the prisoner on report for any inappropriate behaviour.
Most trans women in custody are safely held in single cells in the female estate, where they are closely monitored and shower separately.
However, if necessary to manage risk, a trans woman could be held in the male estate even if she has received legal gender recognition.
Since 2010, the majority of trans women in Scottish Prison Service custody have been held in the female estate and none have harmed female prisoners.