Scottish Women. Write to your representatives

[ArabellaScott]

www.writetothem.com/

Ask them how transwomen are not the problem.

Ask them why Isla Bryson is in a woman's prison.

Ask them why his victims had to call him 'she'.

Ask them what they they are doing.

Remain polite. Channel your anger into productive use. For his victims and the women in prison with him tonight.

Should we also write to Keith Brown as Cabinet Secretary for Justice? I'm not entirely sure how it works in terms of contacting MSP's who hold a specific role.

Maybe they need reminding that they voted to leave this in the hands of the Scottish prison service instead of showing true leadership.

Reply from a Green MSP:

'The Scottish Prisons Policy in relation to gender identity and gender reassignment has been in place since 2014 – 10 years after the adoption of the current gender recognition certificate process and 4 years after the implementation of the Equality Act. The policy is available online here: www.sps.gov.uk/nmsruntime/saveasdialog.aspx?fileName=SPSGenderIdentityandGenderReassignmentPolicy20142562_1392.pdf

As you can see it does not use Gender Recognition Certificates (6.4) for accommodation decisions.

Placement decisions are taken on a case-by-case basis by the Scottish Prison Service and are rightly not subject to political influence. The decision-making process is generally based on social transition and risk assessment. A GRC does not now - and would not, even were the Gender Recognition Reform Bill be adopted - confer any rights to placement.

The Scottish Greens support a wholesale review of our justice system and our manifesto committed us to supporting the work of the expert group established to examine how the criminal justice system deals with misogyny.

We also support reform of the criminal justice system so that it better works for survivors and will create a Victims Commissioner for Scotland to represent the interests of victims and to drive improvements and innovation in the justice system'

Reply from a Conservative MSP:

'Adam Graham, who now goes by the name Isla Byrson, was convicted on Tuesday of two counts of rape and is set to be sent to the women’s prison HMP Corton Vale.

Our amendments to the Gender Recognition Bill would have prevented sex offenders from obtaining a Gender Recognition Certificate but they were voted down by other parties, which has left the system open to abuse from male sexual predators. Rape is a crime that can only be committed by men and our justice system must recognise that.

The SNP, Greens and Liberal Democrats blocked the introduction of vital safeguards on Nicola Sturgeon’s Bill. If this trans rapist is sent to a women’s prison, the vast majority of the public will find this utterly indefensible.'

SNP MSP:

'It’s up to the Scottish Prison Service to allocate prisoners, their policy is to respect gender identities subject to risk assessment.
There’s no requirement to have a GRC to be recognised as your acquired gender by the SPS.'

For what it's worth, I didn't mention GRCs at any point. I just asked what the fuck a rapist was doing in a women's prison. Or words to that effect.

I was very careful to not mention the GRR Bill or GRC's - I focused purely on the SPS's self id policy currently in place. I'm sure I'll still get the cut and paste 'GRC blah blah blah' as I don't think they've got an answer to why the SPS have just been allowed to do whatever the fuck they like.

I'm not Scottish but I thought this might need a bump for any new visitors.

The only reply I've yet received from my 7 list MSP's -

Thank you for emailing me on this important topic. People are right to be outraged by this.

Scottish Labour believes the safety of women and women prisoners is the paramount concern. Women prisoners are a vulnerable group who have often been subjected to violence and sexual abuse including rape. Often they are in prison for less serious crimes than men and for different types of offences. It is completely unacceptable that rapists are incarcerated in women’s prisons.

The Scottish Prison Service needs to review the risks to women in prisons. It is also of course correct to consider the duty of care towards individuals convicted of rape. However this does not mean that a rapist should be housed in a woman’s prison.

The Scottish Government set its policy relating to trans prisoners in 2014 and has been reviewing that policy for a number of years. Labour has been calling for that review to be fast-tracked. The voices of women in prisons, including women who have served time in prison and those working in the prison sector, need to be heard. Updated guidance must be issued urgently to give these institutions confidence in their ability to deal with those with gender reassignment appropriately and to exclude rapists from women’s prisons in accordance with the Equality Act.

It is very welcome that the First Minister has now said rapists should not be housed on the women’s estate. She needs to change the policy, which was set in 2014, and to bring forward guidance as a matter of urgency to make sure a rapist is not placed in the women’s estate again.

Thank you for taking the time to contact me.

Will do again arabella

the sex offender helped shaped that policy for Scottish prisions