Justice Secretary Brandon Lewis has announced that transgender prisoners with male genitalia will no longer be housed in women's prisons, in a significant policy shift. The reforms, outlined in a parliamentary statement on Tuesday, also apply to transgender women convicted of sexual offences.
Speaking at the Conservative Party conference last week, Lewis said: 'It cannot be right that transgender prisoners, when convicted of serious sexual offences or those who have not had reassignment surgery, are housed in a general women's estate. This will end – we have a duty of care to all those behind bars.'
The announcement follows controversy over the case of Sally Ann Dixon, a transgender woman jailed for 20 years for indecent assaults committed before transitioning. Dixon is serving her sentence at Bronzefield women's prison in Surrey, prompting criticism from Home Secretary Suella Braverman, who accused Sussex Police of 'playing identity politics and denying biology' after the force initially referred to Dixon as a woman in a press release.
Lewis confirmed that exemptions to the new rules will be considered on a case-by-case basis, and further details will be published before the end of the year. The policy also includes plans to expand GPS tagging for burglars, robbers, and thieves serving shorter sentences, with an estimated 2,000 additional offenders to be monitored by March 2025.
