Number of trans prisoners up by a fifth in two years, MoJ report finds

Figures from the Ministry of Justice show that the transgender prison population has grown by one-fifth in two years.

 

In a report seen by The Daily Telegraph, the number of prisoners serving sentences in England and Wales identified as transgender has jumped 21 per cent to 197 in 2021 compared to 163 in 2019. The report, which found that more than half of prisons (56 per cent) in the country had one or more transgender inmates, acknowledges that the figures are "likely to underestimate" the true number of prisoners who identify as the opposite gender.

 

Offenders who hold a gender recognition certificate (GRC) - a document which legally recognises their change in gender - are enumerated in a separate category.  Although it is understood that the figure is still being investigated, this year's offender equalities annual report is expected to confirm for the first time that the number of prisoners who hold a GRC is 23. 

 

The annual figures show that, of the 197 prisoners who are living as the opposite gender in prison but not legally recognised as such, the overwhelming majority were men identifying as women. The offender equalities annual report states; "When asked about the gender with which the prisoner identified from the following categories, 146 identified as female, 39 as male, 11 as non-binary and one did not provide a response."

 

The latest figures disclose the gradual increase of the transgender prison population at estates across England and Wales since the data was first collected in 2016. In 2016, 70 prisoners identified as transgender, a figure which rose to 125 in 2017, 139 in 2018 and 163 in 2019. Of the 163 prisoners who identified as the opposite gender in the 2019 report, 130 identified as female, 20 as male and 13 did not provide a response. Due to the coronavirus pandemic, no data was collected in 2020. 

 

Campaigners said the figures show a "significant yearly increase in the number of male prisoners identifying as transgender". Kate Coleman, from Keep Prisons Single Sex, said; "As the numbers increase, so does the risk to women in prison due to MoJ policies that permit some of these prisoners to be housed in the female estate."

 

This summer, in a landmark ruling in the High Court, senior judges concluded that it was lawful to house transgender women who were born men in the female prison estate. 

 

A female prisoner brought a legal challenge against the MoJ for allowing inmates to serve their sentence in a prison that corresponds with their gender identity. Lawyers representing the woman, named only as FDJ, argued that placing transgender women with a history of sexual violence in female prisons put other inmates at risk of sex attacks. However, two High Court judges found although it may appear "inappropriate and incongruous" for a transgender female, possibly with a "masculine physique and male genitalia", to be in a women's prison, the government had checks and balances in place to reduce the risks. Lord Justice Holroyde said he accepted inmates may feel "fear and anxiety" if a transgender woman was a sexual predator, but believed specialist panels could ensure those who posed a risk were moved to a male prison, kept on a specialist wing or only allowed to meet females under supervision. 

 

"Transgender prisoners make up just 0.2 per cent of the prison population and our approach to managing them was recently confirmed by the High Court to be safe and legal" a Prison Service spokesman said.

 

The Johnson Partnership

Derby Crime Solicitors