Ministers to have veto on where trans prisoners serve sentences

[Igneococcus]

Also in the Times today:

www.thetimes.co.uk/article/ecccae28-40f4-11ed-a7af-c587dcb7526e?shareToken=41d18eea6a2e17f0d218fb76829e7ff3

That article mixes up sex and gender and, right at the end, it talks about living as a man and doesn't say that John/Sally has gone to a women's prison. What a waste of an opportunity.

There are a lot of comments pointing this out. Some journalists still seem to be completely clueless about this issue.

This is not good enough. The only acceptable stance is NO MEN IN WOMEN'S PRISONS, EVER.

I agree, there shouldn't be the need for a veto because it shouldn't happen in the first place.

At least it makes the point that if ministers sign off TW into female prisons, they share the responsibility of blame in the event of any assault taking place. It's might make some minister pause ....

It shouldn't happen in the first place. I wonder why Lewis has chosen this approach. The other way of doing it would either, I imagine, be to change the Equality Act (difficult) or to pass some kind of legislation or guidance that forces the Prison Service to put biological males in men's prison. I assume there's a reason he doesn't want to do that. Presumably his proposal is easier to implement, and also of course it gives more power to ministers, which the government probably sees as a good thing.

Giving ministers a veto on all transfers will mean they share responsibility if a transgender prisoner attacks a female inmate, or is attacked by a male inmate after a transfer request is rejected.

I am a bit concerned about that. What if they get attacked for another reason and it’s used as a reason to put them in a women’s prison? I don’t want anybody attacked but it does happen in prison but it’s not a reason to put men in women’s prisons.

Exactly, inkjet.
If they're not keeping vulnerable male prisoners safe it's an urgent issue but the solution isn't to make female prisoners unsafe instead.

Yes. Women’s prisons aren’t there to solve problems in the men’s estate.