This Saturday (2 April) will be the first of several protests in response to the inclusion of males in women's prisons, and more widely, the inclusion of males in women's single-sex spaces and services.
The protest starts at 1 pm and will be near the Tesco roundabout on B805 near HMP Polmont.
The prisons protests are endorsed by: Forth Valley Feminists, LBG Alliance Scotland, Scottish Feminist Network, Women Speak Scotland.
Please note:
- This protest is unsuitable for children.
- No costumes, singing, chanting, or stickering - please be considerate of the family and friends visiting the prison.
We hope as many of you can join us!
Women in prison are especially vulnerable to the issue of males being included in female spaces. We can choose to not go into the retailer or leisure centre that does not have women-only changing rooms etc, but women in prison are unable to avoid situations, such as showering with the male prisoner, and don't have a choice.
Further information
Women’s Prisons are Mixed-Sex Facilities:
The Scottish Prison Service policy on transgender prisoners allows some male prisoners who identify as transgender, including both those with and without Gender Recognition Certificates, to be housed in women’s prisons alongside female offenders. The SPS does not draw a formal distinction between GRC and non-GRC holders: allocation is on the basis of self ID. (Of course this could change as a result of the current policy review.)
This means that women’s prisons are effectively run as mixed-sex facilities. This is wrong. Women in prison are entitled to single-sex provision for the same reasons that all women and girls are: for reasons of dignity, privacy and safety.
The SPS says a male prisoner is only held in the female estate if the risk posed to women in prison is “manageable”. We disagree that this is an acceptable threshold and believe that no male prisoner should ever be held alongside women in prison.
Sex is the most important variable when it comes to analysing offending and risk: this is acknowledged throughout the criminal justice system. Yet here, the SPS believe sex somehow doesn’t matter. It does. It always does.
We believe that we should Keep Prisons Single Sex.
Key Points:
Women make up less that 5% of the total prison population. Most offending is committed by men and it is particularly rare for women to commit serious, violent or sexual offences.
Women in prison are highly vulnerable:
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Over 30% of female prisoners report a history of sexual abuse
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Almost 60% of women reported experiencing domestic violence
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There is a high prevalence of significant head injury amongst female prisoners (78%). Many such injuries are caused by a male partner
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Almost 50% of female prisoners have mental health problems
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Rates of self-harm are 5 times higher than in male estate
Women in prison are recognised as being highly traumatised: Why then does the SPS put men in women’s prisons?
Who are the men in women’s prisons?
It is not easy to get information about which men are in women’s prisons and the offences they have committed. The press has reported details of 3 men who have been in women’s prisons under the current policy. Because these details are public, we can use them here:
Peter Laing AKA Paris Green:
In 2013, he was sentenced to a minimum of 18 years for torture and murder. He had already ‘transitioned’ prior to conviction, and was initially sent to HMP Cornton Vale. However, within 5 weeks he was pursuing female prisoners sexually and was moved to the women’s wing of HMP Edinburgh to await ‘reassignment’ surgery. He continued to sexually pursue female prisoners and so was eventually moved to the men’s section of the jail in early 2017. In 2021 he was allegedly refused surgery after the surgeon stated that the risk he poses could not be managed in a hospital setting.
Alan Baker AKA Alex Stewart:
Alan Baker was convicted of murder in 2013 after he killed a man he had met online by stabbing him in the chest at least 16 times. He was sentenced to life imprisonment. By 2018, Baker had ‘transitioned’, changed his name to Alex Stewart and had been transferred to the female estate at HMP Greenock. Although he had had no ‘reassignment’ surgery, he was reported to be showering with the female inmates. He also won the prison’s coveted Miss Fitness Trophy. A prison source elaborated, “Everybody knew it wasn’t very fair, but nobody was allowed to say it. The women inmates have had to accept that Stewart is being allowed to live as a woman, despite not having had surgery. This means [he] is in the showers at the same time as other inmates.” In 2018, Stewart began a relationship with fellow prisoner Daniel Eastwood, AKA Sophie (see below). However, the authorities intervened and Eastwood was transferred from HMP Greenock to the women’s section at HMP Polmont after the pair had sex in front of the female inmates. We believe that he remains in the female estate.
Daniel Eastwood AKA Sophie Eastwood:
Eastwood is a dangerous offender with a history of violent offending. He was convicted of murder in 2004, a crime he committed whilst in prison serving a sentence for dangerous driving, and was sentenced to life imprisonment. In 2018 he ‘transitioned’ was was subsequently transferred to the female estate, where he has remained.
A conviction for a violent or sexual offence is no bar to being housed with women. Neither is having a penis.
“Being transgender” doesn’t make any difference to offending pattern: we know from the MoJ data that 60% of the males who identify as transgender in the male estate in England have at least 1 conviction for sexual offences.
How many men are in women’s prisons?
There are no routinely collected data published on the number of transgender prisoners held in Scottish prisons, nor whether they are accommodated in the male or female estates. What information we have must be obtained via FOIA, or via PQs asked by MSPs. The most recent figures we have state that there are 6 male prisoners held in the female estate in Scotland.
What incidents have occurred in women’s prisons?
From conversations we have had with female offenders and former offenders we know that women report the following:
- Threatening & sexually aggressive behaviour
- Exhibitionism & assault
- Instances of grooming
Women report feeling fear and being unsupported by prison staff who are reluctant to act on their complaints. We have heard of women being told their concerns are transphobic or being instructed that they may not use language to accurately refer to the sex of these male prisoners, because this ‘misgendering’ is bullying. Some have told us that officers’ hand are tied: there is nothing they could do even if they wanted to, because it will be seen as transphobic.
For more information on prisons please see kpssinfo.org