Trans prisoners accommodated according to gender at birth

He declined to comment on the prison’s view on gender recognition certificates, which legally changes an adult’s gender.

The issue has come to the fore in the national media following extensive coverage over where transgender woman Isla Bryson should serve a prison sentence for rape.

Initially she was in a women’s prison, but was moved to a male prison and this led to a change in UK policy, that will see newly-convicted or remanded transgender prisoners initially placed in jails according to their birth sex.

Guernsey has a mixed prison and as of mid-February had 80 inmates – 75 male and five female.

Genders are accommodated separately for living and sleeping, but the prison is mixed during the working day.

Mr De Carteret said Guernsey had its own policy for transgender prisoners.

‘We would not accommodate a pre-operative trans prisoner in a prison location that is not consistent with the sex they were assigned at birth,’ he said, but would not clarify what level of gender-affirming surgery would be required.

‘We have accommodated trans prisoners previously and have an established policy in place to ensure we assess their specific circumstances and make appropriate decisions.

‘Where a prisoner expresses that they identify as a gender that is different to the sex they were assigned at birth, we instigate a transgender care board (made up of relevant prison and health professionals) to review all relevant information before decisions are made.’

Mr De Carteret declined to explain what options were available to the care board, but said that each offender was handled on a case-by-case basis.

‘An appropriate assessment of risk is paramount for the management of individuals who are transgender,’ he said.

‘The assessment of risk we carry out seeks to protect both the welfare and rights of the individual, but also focuses on ensuring the welfare and rights of those around them.’

The UK census revealed that about 0.5% of the population – about 262,000 people – have a gender different to the one which was registered at birth.

This included 0.1% trans men and 0.1% trans women. If Guernsey had a similar number of transgender individuals, that would work out as about 120 people.

A 2019 American study found that only about a quarter of transgender and non-binary individuals undergo some form of gender-affirming surgery, with older, richer individuals more likely to choose to do so.

The same study stated that it was more common for transgender men than transgender women to have surgery, with top surgery being more common than bottom surgery.

The UK Government’s position

UNDER proposed reforms, transgender women with male genitals, or those who have been convicted of a sexual offence, should no longer be held in the general women’s estate.

Exemptions will be considered on a case-by-case basis – though only the most exceptional cases will be considered.

An updated policy framework will be published shortly, detailing how it will be implemented by the Prison Service.

Currently more than 90% of transgender women in prison are housed in men’s prisons, and most do not request a move to a women’s prison.

Transgender women without a gender recognition certificate are initially sent to a male prison as a matter of course.

Transgender women who cannot be held safely in either the male or female estate can be held in a specialist unit.

A Ministry of Justice report found there were 197 transgender prisoners in England and Wales out of a total population of about 78,000 in April 2021 – about 0.2% of the prison population.