The trans debate is over. So why do women’s prisons still house men?

[IwantToRetire]

... The Equality Act means women’s prisons should only house biological females. But instead of correcting this failure, ministers obfuscate and delay publishing overdue new guidance on single-sex spaces.

Resorting to sophistry, ministers insist E-Wing is not part of the general women’s estate. But it is physically located within HMP Downview, run by the same governor, funded from the same budget, staffed by the same prison officers and supported by the same services. E-Wing residents may sleep separately from the women but they mix freely during the day.

Last September, the Independent Monitoring Board for HMP Downview published its annual report. The board found that the previous requirement for one-to-one supervision for E-Wing prisoners had been removed – leaving female prisoners at risk. Instead of acting on the report, Lord Timpson removed the chair of the board from her role the day after publication.

Lord Timpson was recruited and put in the House of Lords to become Prisons Minister despite – or, knowing Labour, because of – his belief that only one-third of existing prisoners should be locked up. He has overseen the abolition of short-term sentences, meaning criminals such as prolific shoplifters escape jail and the early release of thousands of criminals.

We must ask why he is refusing to act on this serious problem in women’s prisons. We know gender ideology has seeped into every nook and cranny of the public sector, silencing dissent. It will take leadership – not weak cowardice and complicity – to put things right. ...
Full article https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2026/04/08/trans-debate-over-womens-prisons-men/

Also at https://archive.is/7TXkh

Because telegraph and transphobic wishlist does not law make.

But no matter how many times someone explains to you lot that FsWS means segregation is sometimes allowed, not universally mandatory, and that it's application is narrower than you think, you put your head into the sand.

So then when reality follows the actual law, as horrible as it is but not as horrible as you dream, you guys are shocked.

There is still no excuse for this. I am interested in your point about Timpson, as far as I know, his shops specifically do not employ men convicted of sex crimes, so one has to ask why he thinks men who may well have been convicted of sex crimes should be ther with women.

There is now law that says men who believe they are women should be able to access women’s facilities. Prisons should be following the Supreme Court judgement and those in charge should be held accountable. Not transphobic as you should know by now.

Aargh ! Should read no law of course

Or as horrible as threatening women with rape for saying no to men. I mean, if that’s where men’s minds go when women say no, it’s worrying. The fact you do acknowledge males with a trans identity are men, and therefore no different from males without a trans identity is telling.

I doubt the Telegraph has a coherent sex based rights analysis, and the article is as much about making fun of Labour.

But thought it worth posting as it shows some parts of the MSM are aware that there is an issue.

And good headline for search engines to pick up.

But underlining this article is the fact that because prisons, like so much else infrastructure in the UK is hopelessly underresources and understaffed, they just muddle through.

And I suspect Timpson, like so many other men, just dont register why this is necessary for women.

As ever it is always "women get to the back of the queue".

(And of course Labour will ignore because it is in the Telegraph)

They should be on a separate wing in the male estate. They could mix freely with the male prisoners during the day. By the same logic applied in the female estate, I'm sure that, even without one-to-one supervision, they would be perfectly safe.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/V-coding

I am sorry to break your innocence based on not knowing how prisons work.

A wikipedia article (that well known bastion of accuracy on women's rights) about prisons in the US? And we're supposed to be convinced?

Aggressive men are aggressive. Male on male violence is a thing. Male on female violence is a thing. Hardly news on a feminist board and certainly not news to a man who threatens to rape women with a splintery rolling pin.

Instead of acting on the report, Lord Timpson removed the chair of the board from her role the day after publication.

I'm disappointed in Timpson. Before he was given the peerage and position, he was vocal in believing that prison wasn't suitable for many women found guilty of crimes. Now he thinks being in prison with men is a suitable punishment?

Isn't this the mirror image of the issue women are campaigning against. Let's call it T coding. The practice of subjecting female prisoners to sexual assault by placing them in the same cell as a dangerous trans woman in order to placate the male prisoner.
Neither should be acceptable. Presumably you condemn both.

Yeah, I'm not sure how this is relevant to this discussion, either. @AidaP If you want to start a campaign for criminal men who have made themselves vulnerable to prison rape by having their penis removed and a fake vagina implanted into their crotch - more vulnerable than all men are to anal rape, that is - to get special consideration for with whom they are housed, some of us might sign up to support that.

I don't see it as in any way relevant, proper or acceptable to house those men in the women's estate.

It's not just safety either (though that is of course hugely important). I think it's in Helen Joyce's book where she talks about how the needs of male prisoners are so different to female. Female prisoners need rehabilitation programs that work on building their self esteem and ability to say no to the men around them. That is definitely not what violent men need!

Legislation isn't enough. You need to weed out the people who still hold these TWAW beliefs. As long as these activists are in positions of power, making these decisions, then you are going to fighting an uphill battle. Suing them will just be like wack a mole.

As horrible as threatening women who stand up for their rights with rape with a splintery rolling pin?
Of course you don't care about women being raped in prison by men.