A trans woman, who was found guilty of raping two women in Scotland before her gender transition as a man, is not being housed in a women’s prison. This was announced by Scottish Prime Minister Nicola Sturgeon in Parliament. 24 hours earlier, her attorney general Keith Brown saw no harm in it.
Isla Bryson was convicted in Glasgow on Tuesday of two rapes in 2016 and 2019. She had met the victims online. The sentence will be announced in February.
Until now, she would have been kept apart from other prisoners at the Scottish women’s prison Cornton Vale for security reasons. According to Prime Minister Sturgeon, she will be transferred within 72 hours.
“No automatic right”
“First, any inmate who poses a risk of sexual offenses will be separated from the others,” Sturgeon said. ‘Trans women in Scotland do not automatically have the right to serve a sentence in a women’s prison, even with a certificate that recognizes their gender. And finally, it is obviously not possible to catch a rapist in a women’s prison.”
“Only a small number commits violations”
Sturgeon insisted that it’s important not to suggest “that trans women are in any way a risk to other women.” “As with all populations, a small number of transgender people will commit transgressions,” it said.
The case takes place against a backdrop of controversy surrounding transgender issues. London is currently blocking a Scottish law that would facilitate the recognition of gender reassignment by allowing it without medical advice and from the age of 16. According to British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, two different policies are being created in his country and that cannot be the intention.
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