Prisons
Our work on prisons includes academic research and analysis, briefings, blogs, and engagement with stakeholders. In 2022 we submitted written evidence to the Scottish Prison Service (SPS) review of its Gender Identity and Gender Reassignment policy and met with SPS officials to discuss our concerns.
As part of our wider body of analysis on legal gender recogntion, we have also raised concerns about the detrimental impact of reform on the female prisoner estate with the Scottish Government and the Scottish Parliament Equalities, Human Rights and Civil Liberties Committee.
Latest updates and analysis
-
MBM letter to the Scottish Human Rights Commission
It is almost five years since the Scottish Prison Service (SPS) stated that it intended to review its 2014 Gender Identity and Gender Reassignment Policy. This means that the...
24th October 2023
-
Changing the prison rules
In 2014, the Scottish Prison Service (SPS) published its Gender Identity and Gender Reassignment policy, allowing prisoners to be accommodated and searched on the basis of self-declared gender identity....
29th June 2023
-
The missing statistic: assessing Scottish Prison Service policy on transgender prisoners
In late 2018 the Scottish Prison Service (SPS) commented in an online media article that it intended to review its Gender Identity and Gender Reassignment policy. Developed over a...
22nd June 2023
-
Briefing note on SPS Gender Identity and Gender Reassignment Policy
On Wednesday 22 February, the Scottish Parliament’s Criminal Justice Committee will take evidence from the Cabinet Secretary for Justice Keith Brown MSP and the Chief Executive of the Scottish...
16th February 2023
-
MBM statement on the Scottish Prison Service urgent case review
The SPS urgent case review is not drafted for clarity. Careful reading shows that the SPS still believe that there are some male prisoners whose sex should not automatically...
10th February 2023
-
Lucy Hunter Blackburn: speech to the No Males in Female Jails demonstration, 9 February 2023
“One of the first times I spoke in public on women’s rights was in June 2019, on this subject – what was happening in prisons in Scotland. I said...
9th February 2023
-
Guest blog: does the Scottish Prison Service risk assessment for placing transgender prisoners protect women?
In the end, the only risk the SPS seems to be concerned about, was the risk to themselves. A guest blog by Dr Alessandra Asteriti Dr Alessandra Asteriti has...
6th February 2023