Nicola Sturgeon should be a contortionist…

[CaveMum]

The knots she manages to tie herself answering the question “Are transwomen women?” are a sight to behold!

Surely when she leaves politics she’s got a guaranteed job with Cirque du Soleil? 😜

twitter.com/peteradamsmith/status/1620051699900755970?s=46&t=VsKfG8lVuN7YC74X6n43cg

She’s a transphobe!

That was fantastic. We need more journalists pushing this type of questioning and not letting politicians weasel their way out of answering

A good follow-up question re the now famous risk-assessments would be: risk to whom?

Is the risk to women prisoners being assessed, or is it the risk to the trans prisoner?

Brilliant questioning. I'm a bitter old hag and her immense discomfort was a joy to behold.

She's usually quite a good public speaker and interviewee. You can tell from how flustered she is here that she's at least got an idea she's talking bollocks.

Brilliant questioning from the ITN journalist Peter Smith.

Though here the implications of his question seem to be that women should be expected to shield transwomen rather than men's prisons being made safer.

twitter.com/PeterAdamSmith/status/1619745186581745664

That is so good I've had to watch it again. Watching NS struggle in this interview has made my day.

"Is there a context in which a woman born as a woman would be housed in the male estate?"

😂 I mean, that's game, set and match right there but on she goes.

Let's never ever forget that this new realisation was prompted by worries of political impacts, and NOT concerns for women and girls safety. That they ignored women for years. I'll never ever forgive her. A friend of mine who was contemplating Independence has said she's totally opposed to it now, and will never ever vote SNP. That goes for me too. What they've done to women is despicable.

It was a thing of beauty.

I want him to now interview some of the others.

Nicola is giving me so much secondhand embarrassment that I’m having to watch that very short clip in even tinier chunks.

It’s like a cross between The Thick of It and Extras, set in Scotland.

Anyone else get the feeling that the rest of SNP have told her she’s on her own on this one? To get out there and clean up the mess of her own making?

if so, how long til she’s forced out as leader?

Shall we start a book on it?

I'm so furious because Stonewall et al could have stood up years ago and said "anyone who commits an act of sexual violence has lost the benefit of the doubt to be considered trans. We'll assume they're lying."

Instead they kept pushing their bonkers ideology and insisting anyone who disagreed was a transphobe and here we are.

The good thing about the case of Isla Bryson is how sharply it brings into focus the question of TWAW… because if you hold that view then of course Isla ought to be housed in the female estate. If TWAW, then ipso facto Isla is a woman and belongs in the female prison.

The madness of this position is then clear to pretty much everyone when Isla is convicted of raping two women and that photo of Isla without their wig is also pretty telling. So now we have Nicola trying to wriggle out of this by intimating that there’s two types of TW… obviously the kind that TWAW and the violent rapists who pretend to be TW. But as per this interview clip, that kind of argument fails in the face of persistent questioning. You cannot have it both ways. Especially with self ID.

Interestingly, I’ve just had the papers to nominate UCU positions up for election. Some candidates say they’re ‘women’. What does that even mean now? Why does the UCU even bother making a point about these candidates? We’ve seen it’s track record on not supporting academics who’ve argued that there’s a difference and it’s important to keep the distinction for multiple reasons… It’s alarming that university academics cannot see how convoluted their thinking is.

That was beautiful!

*Anyone else get the feeling that the rest of SNP have told her she’s on her own on this one? To get out there and clean up the mess of her own making?

if so, how long til she’s forced out as leader?*

Well, here’s an anonymous comment from Wings over Scotland. (I wouldn’t necessarily believe all of this, even though I would like it to be true):

“So reports from Stasi HQ say that Sturgeon is in a complete mess over this. She is being extremely short tempered with staff and in cabinet meetings. She is determined to push this through but even Robison, who is now totally drained, is reluctant to take the s35 to court.

There is going to be a reshuffle in May with Robison likely to ‘stand down’ as a cab sec and replaced by either Todd or Gilruth. Humza is being moved out of health in a swap with Angus Robertson. It finished Humza’s ambitions and ‘Air miles’ Angus will have to do some work for a change to keep his own intact.

Sturgeon is obsessed with Ash Regan and the spads and comms teams will be doubling down on briefing against her in the next few weeks. She is now being viewed as a serious challenger with huge support from grass root members now that most have shifted from Forbes due to her recent inaction on the GRR. Forbes is meant to be on mat leave, but she has been on maneuvers recently with a few reports of her still being involved in decisions and briefings. She could have issued a statement or resigned however she made a pact with Sturgeon that she would not intervene as long as the GRR had gone through. However she has delayed her return due to the continued running sore that the GRR has presented and it is unlikely she will return until the worst of this is over.

There is a complete bunker mentality at Bute House and those who have hitched their own careers to Sturgeon, are in a panic. CVs are being updated, allegiances are shifting and the mood is said to be ‘dire beyond belief’.

Statistically trans women are more likely to be the victims of assaults & sexual assaults in prison than the perpetrators.

Of course victims of assaults are going to be more likely to be victims of assaults than those assaulting… perpetrators are not going to be more likely to get assaulted because… they are the perpetrators

Whats he trying to say? The confusing language. That in a male prison estate, TIM get sexually assaulted more than non TIM do? I’d find that surprising just because of the numbers ie the number of TW in prison is a tiny fraction of the male prison population.

She's turning herself in to a pretzel there - and is not happy at being so explicitly and unavoidably questioned.

<b>Whats he trying to say? The confusing language. That in a male prison estate, TIM get sexually assaulted more than non TIM do? I’d find that surprising just because of the numbers ie the number of TW in prison is a tiny fraction of the male prison population.<b>

I think she's saying that in the male estate TW are more likely to be victims of sexual assault than they are to sexually assault someone else. This may well be true in the male estate.
I don't think there have been any claims of women in the female estate assaulting TW have there? Apologies if I've missed that.

Anyone who believes this ends up like a pretzel

See also Starmer

It’s impossible as it’s based on lies

Male sex offenders ARE often targeted by other male prisoners.

I would imagine the trans element is neither here nor there really (seeing as trans can just mean ‘changed name on phone bill’ - look at ‘Tiffany’!) it’s specific criminal convictions that make them a target in prison culture.

it’s up to the prison service to house prisoners who are vulnerable to attacks from other prisoners safely and responsibly.

It’s not the job of female prisoners to keep male sex offenders safe from male violence.

Without looking at stats this probably is true - because it is probably true for every subset.

I.e. women are more likely to be assaulted in prison than to assault people

Non-trans identifying males are probably more likely to be assaulted than to assault someone

Etc etc

Because even in prison, most people aren't violent (even those who might be there for violent crimes won't necessarily be violent in prison), whilst those who are violent may well attack multiple people. So you probably have more victims of violence than perpetrators

I'd want to see equivalent stats for the rest of the prison population.

It would be a blessing if she could disappear up her own arse.

@ODFOx that quote was from the journalist Peter Smith’s Twitter feed. So he’s saying it, not Sturgeon. It sounded so convoluted that I wasn’t sure what he meant. I think you’re right and he missed out a ‘be’ ie "…. than be the perpetrators.

But regardless, male violence should not be the rationale for placing biologically intact TW / TIM in female prisons. You don’t have to have a "history of violence" to be threatening to women. Such little sympathy for women in any of these discussions.

Statistically trans women are more likely to be the victims of assaults & sexual assaults in prison than the perpetrators. Scotland has reacted to public outcry, but does this make life more dangerous for many trans people in prisons who have no history of violence against women?

But regardless, male violence should not be the rationale for placing biologically intact TW / TIM in female prisons. You don’t have to have a "history of violence" to be threatening to women. Such little sympathy for women in any of these discussions.

How is 'biologically intact' relevant? You don't have to be 'biologically intact' to be threatening to women. Having your jawline surgically altered and fake boobs inserted do not make a male less threatening to women.

No males in women's prisons.

does this make life more dangerous for many trans people in prisons who have no history of violence against women?

Male violence against other males is not women's problem to solve. Women are not human shields for men.