Irish prisoners housed based on birth sex not gender identity

[JustAnotherSpartacus]

For anyone who is interested, Irish prisoners are currently housed based on their birth sex, not their gender identity. I wrote to the Minister of Justice months ago asking about this but he didn't answer, but I saw this in a newspaper a while ago (they use the word gender here but clearly mean sex):

"The IPS confirmed since 2013 after the court process and committal process one person claimed to be transgender in February 2015 “at Cloverhill Prison for their short custodial period”. A spokesman said: “A person is accommodated in prison according to their birth gender and not their acquired gender. Any issues in relation to gender should have been addressed by the courts. A spokesman said: “A person is accommodated in prison according to their birth gender and not their acquired gender. Any issues in relation to gender should have been addressed by the courts.”"

Unfortunately it is obvious that some pressure is being brought to house prisoners wherever they want to.

"After two high-profile deaths of trans-women in English prisons, a change of policy was brought in there last year to allow prisoners to go with the gender they identify as without having to get medical or Gender Recognition Certificates."

[I looked into these cases before. I think neither prisoner had asked for a transfer to the female estate. One had clear mental health and addiction issues and had been sexually abused as a teenager, I think by a step-dad. They sounded vulnerable, and possibly shouldn't have been imprisoned in the first place, and might have been better placed in some type of rehab facility (they were in prison for theft to feed their drug habit) and the other was an extremely violent man that needed a few prison guards at a time to deal with them]

"In recent years Ireland has been at the forefront of equality with the same-sex marriage referendum and Ms Malone said it was disappointing the prison service did not follow suit.

She added: “Not only are you a prisoner but you’re also a member of a minority group in a closed space and the potential for abuse within closed spaces is huge.”

One of four authors, who worked on a report here, stressed the importance of the IPS having a policy to protect LGBT and trans prisoners.

Dr Nicola Carr, an associate professor in criminology at the University of Nottingham, said: “Internationally there has been cases in England whereby there’s been high profile cases of male to female transgender prisoners being placed in male institutions and dying in custody through suicide.

“The Irish Prison Service said they would form a working group to basically develop a policy following on from our report.”"

www.irishmirror.ie/news/irish-news/irish-prison-service-slammed-not-12678191.amp?__twitter_impression=true

We have gender self-identification laws here, so potentially if they chance this prison policy any male could get into a female prison, unless they still have exclusions.

Someone in a male prison cannot be transferred to a womens prison and vice versa as the law currently stands. However this is all based on the warrant issued by the court who theoretically could send someone to the prison of the opposite sex after which as the law currently stands they could not be moved

If you read pg 18 and 19 of this pdf (from a few months after self ID) its said that they go on whats on a persons birth cert which with self ID is changeable
www.iprt.ie/files/IPRT_Out_on_the_Inside_2016_EMBARGO_TO_1030_Feb_02_2016.pdf

Always disappointing to see these people using prisoners to push their own pet projects. Zero interest in the welfare of women prisoners, just the usual - if there's a trans prisoner then they must get their demands met or we're all transphobic.

Hopefully now that there's so much more knowledge and statistics about the large number of sex offenders in the prison estate claiming to be trans, it will become more difficult to justify putting rapists with penises into women's prisons.

It's so obvious that a seperate wing in existing prisons for trans prisoners is the sensible solution.

and the potential for abuse within closed spaces is huge.”

Interesting this is never considered a compelliing case against when moving tw into women’s prisons, thereby creating mixed sex facilities. /s

"In recent years Ireland has been at the forefront of equality with the same-sex marriage referendum and Ms Malone said it was disappointing the prison service did not follow suit."

Hold on.

Ireland has self ID. It is forever being used as an example of progressive trans rights and also to say look, GC people, there have been no issues.

GC people have pointed out that Ireland and the UK are very different countries in many ways and that prisons and other things (pristhood / more?) were explicitly excluded from self ID.

So now this country that has been used by activists for the transgender community are saying that Ireland is NOT progressive? Make your minds up

The other point here is that prisons >> male female have massive issues with drugs, mental health issues, bullying, sexual crime, violence, self harm, suicide. Including institutions where young people are locked up >> very high rates of suicide.

For many people (who are not single issue types) these are massive issues and there are various orgs that are working and pressuring the govt to improve matters. Privatisation has not helped, and spice is a newer and big problem.

I read a heartbreaking article the other day about a young man who in my opinion should have been receiving help, not been in prison at all. He had a host of issues mainly around mental health and addiction and ended up comitting suicide after he was released. He was sexually exploited in prison amongst other things.

It breaks your heart. We have money and we can and should do better than this.

The whole system needs looking at. I have views about prison and what it is for, what sort of criminals should be in there, probably too long for this thread.

What we do NOT need to do is say there is an option for one type of at-risk man to go in with the women, and espeically we do not need to say that they are in that group on their say so.

What about all the other at risk male prisoners? These people dont' seem to care about them.

Links:
prison reform trust
story

Note the person in the article did not bother to mention the FOUR women who were sexually assaulted by just ONE trans prisoner who was placed in with them.

Prisons have a lot of issues and are complex. The prison community of women and men is different. The crimes are different.

These people just say yeah any old bloke who says they're a woman put them in with the women with NO I mean ZERO consideration as to what this will mean for the women AT ALL.

Even if they aren't physically attacked there is
Risk of pregnancy through consensual relationships (very not good)
General change in the feel of the whole place, women feeling intimidated, uncomfortable, scared, isolated etc. The showers thing eg it was reported that women felt "uncomfortable" showering with the trans inmate.
And even "little" stuff like that one who smashed the sports competition and won all the stuff. Well of course they fucking did. Takes the piss.