From Stephen Whittle’s (tran FtM) written briefing to Caitlyn Jenner for Channel 4’s GenderQuake show:
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- Trans Prisoners
In 2016, the Government held an inquiry after several suicides of trans prisoners. As a consequence, new, improved, Prison Rules were agreed.
The UK doesn’t have many transitioned, trans prisoners at any one time; current numbers are between 40 and 50.
Unfortunately, the Rules don’t allow trans prisoners to be placed in a prison of their preferred gender role until they have obtained legal gender recognition.
Very few trans prisoners will have obtained legal gender recognition; they rarely know it is available, and if they do they often believe (erroneously) that gender recognition will be too difficult or too expensive.
The new Prison Rules require a prompt cases conference on the incarceration of a trans person. The conference must include and listen to the concerns of the trans prisoner.
Unfortunately, the rather macho-prison service isn’t noted for its trans friendly attitudes. Few prison staff have the time or interest to make sure a case conference happens, never mind help a prisoner to change their legal name and gender.
We regularly are in touch with prisoners who are struggling to have their hormone treatment promptly prescribed, frequently leaving them distressed, and angry – a guaranteed way of ensuring they lose the plot and break the core prison rules, getting further into trouble and being further isolated.
Consequently trans prisoners:
end up in the ‘wrong prison’,
spend weeks without their correct hormone therapies,
are terrified of assault (and it is a real threat, with compensation often paid for the physical injuries received),
are isolated, without friends, and frequently placed into effective solitary (for their own protection),
Many become mentally unwell, and become obsessed with suicidal ideation.
PFC volunteers write to many prisoners and arrange to send in copies of the Prison rules, to send in clothing and shoes purchased from charity shops, and to provide a pen-pal friendship. Mostly though PFC Volunteers spend their time writing to prison governors requesting (begging) that the PSI rules are abided by.
The problem is not the Prison Rules, it is the failure of Prisons and Prison staff to use the rules to help the trans prisoners in their establishments.
A lack of training in the Rules hasn’t helped, and even offers of free training for Prison staff are turned down, because of staff shortages, they cannot consider releasing staff to attend for the hour it would take to train them.
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Whittle is co founder of Press For Change, who were the key players in getting the original GRA through in 2004.