Prisoners: Gender Recognition
(asked on 27th February 2020) - View Source
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many trans prisoners are detained in prisons which do not match their gender assigned at birth; how many trans prisoners have requested a complex cases board review; and what steps his Department is taking to help ensure the safety of trans prisoners.
We do not collect data on the birth gender of transgender individuals. As part of the Offender Equalities Report 2018/19, there were 163 people who self-identified as transgender. Transgender prisoners were defined as those individuals known within prison to be currently living in, or are presenting in, a gender different to their sex assigned at birth and who have had a case conference (as defined by PSI 17/2016 The Care and Management of Transgender Offenders). Further information can be found at the following link;
Of those, 6 declared their legal gender opposite to the gender of the estate they were located. (Legal gender is most often the same as birth gender. However, where a transgender individual has a Gender Recognition Certificate, the legal gender will be different to the gender assigned at birth).
Between the dates of January 2019 to January 2020, 22 transgender individuals have had one or more Complex Case Boards. These individuals have met at least one of the eight criteria qualifying for a case board, which are outlined in the Policy Framework. The view of the individual is always sought as part of the case board process.
The safety of all prisoners is our priority and we are committed to ensuring that those under our care and management are treated fairly, lawfully and decently, with their rights properly respected. In 2019 the Ministry of Justice conducted a review into the care and management of individuals who are transgender and this led to the publication of a revised Policy Framework which strengthens the risk and safeguarding process. This was fully implemented on 31st October 2019 across all men’s and women’s prisons. The safety of all prisoners is of paramount concern. All known risks, both towards or presented by a transgender person in prison, will always be taken into account. Individuals can be cared for and managed in the gender with which they identify, regardless of their location in a male or female prison.