Scotland’s First Minister Nicola Sturgeon signed the Gender Recognition Reform creates a pathway for a person to have their gender legally recognized if it is not the gender they were assigned at birth, with a gender recognition certificate. File photo by Robert Perry/EPA
Jan. 29 (UPI) — The Scottish Prison System will not transfer any transgender prisoner with a history of violence toward women to a women’s prison after a review over procedures last week.
The review came as the prison system faced a challenge in the case of Isla Bryson, a trans woman convicted of raping two women in 2016 and 2019, who was sentenced to serve time in a women’s prison, the BBC reported.
Parliament met on Wednesday to discuss the case in relation to the Gender Recognition Reform signed by First Minister Nicola Sturgeon.
The law creates a pathway for a person to have their gender legally recognized if it is not the gender they were assigned at birth, with a gender recognition certificate.
Justice Secretary Keith Brown said a gender recognition certificate does not chance the prison system’s process in determining the placement of transgender prisoners.
“The important thing is that its process is one that is based on the assessment of risk — for the individual, for other prisoners and for prison staff,” Brown said.
“I trust the SPS to deal with this. It does not follow the practice in England and Wales, where the process is determined by the presence of a GRC. In Scotland, if someone has a GRC, it does not give them the right to be transferred to the place of their choice.”
Bryson was moved to a men’s jail where she remains.
A larger review is continuing, but until it concludes no transgender person with a history of violence against women — whether already in prison or newly convicted — will be moved from a men’s prison to a women’s prison, according to Brown and BBC.
“As the first minister pointed out last week, we must not allow any suggestion to take root that trans women pose an inherent threat to women,” Brown said.
“Predatory men are the risk to women. However, as with any group in society, a small number of trans women will offend and be sent to prison.”