Alliance leader Naomi Long under fire from women's groups after saying male-born prisoners may be housed in women's jail

The Alliance leader and justice minister had made the comments in the Assembly on Monday when she spoke about the NI Prison Service's policy towards prisoners who say they are transgender.

Two groups – Edinburgh-based non-profit outfit 'For Women Scotland' and the London-based charitable organisation 'Sex Matters' – have now criticised her for the remarks.

Mrs Long told the Assembly on Monday that, when someone who was born male but now identifies as female has to be incarcerated, the prison authorities decide where to put them on a "case-by-case basis".

They "take a person-centred and risk-based approach" she said, adding: "It would be dangerous to give a commitment that a male prisoner will never be housed in a female prison or vice versa, as there may be unique risks and issues that lead to such a situation".

DUP MLA Joanne Bunting said that such "self-identification has the potential to be a predators' charter", prompting Mrs Long to accuse her of using "scurrilous" language.

"Many of those who are trans in our system are among the most vulnerable people in the prison system and, far from being predators, are predated upon," said Mrs Long, before accusing her opponents of waging a "ludicrous culture war" over the issue.

The issue of how the justice system treats people who describe themselves as transgender has become a hot topic in recent years, driven by the explosion in the number of people classing themselves as trans.

Much of the controversy has also been fuelled by the case of Scottish double rapist Adam Graham.

Graham now identifies as a woman called Isla Bryson, and was for a time detained in a women's prison.

There have been other cases too, such as that of Andrew Burns, a repeat violent offender and stalker in Scotland who demanded to be referred to as Tiffany Scott.

The Telegraph reported in 2023 that Burns had successfully applied to move to a women's jail (and has since died).

Fiona McAnena, director of campaigns at Sex Matters, reacted to Mrs Long's comments by saying: "It is grossly irresponsible to dismiss concerns about putting male prisoners in a women’s prison as a ‘ludicrous culture war’.

"Studies show that the majority of women in prison have already been victims of male violence. Locking them up with a violent male is further abuse, this time by the state.

"Incarcerated men with transgender identities may well be vulnerable. But all sorts of vulnerable men must be kept safe on the male estate, and men with transgender identities are no different.

"There can be no good reason to house a male prisoner in a women’s prison. The justice department and the prison service must act urgently to adopt a policy that protects everyone’s dignity and keeps everyone safe. That includes women."

Susan Smith, co-director of For Women Scotland, said: "The Scottish experience has demonstrated that a supposedly robust 'case-by-case' system has resulted in murderers, torturers, and child sex offenders being placed in the female estate.

"The minister seems very concerned with 'vulnerable' trans prisoners, less so with the incredibly vulnerable women who are incarcerated: studies show that 79% of women in prison have been victims of sexual or domestic abuse and 66% of them have suffered repeated head trauma.

"Whistleblowers in Scotland said that introducing male prisoners resulted in trauma, at best, for these women, while others were subject to rape threats and harassment.

"There are many vulnerable men in prison – for example, young men, gay men, and men with learning difficulties – does the minister propose they should all be in the female estate?

"Perhaps she should focus on making men's prisons safer rather than putting women at risk."

During her comments to the Assembly on Monday, Mrs Long had said “I champion the safety of every prisoner, whether that person identifies as female, whether they were natal female, whether they were born as a man or whether they identify as a man”.

"It is their safety and not any ideology, whether that be trans ideology or anti-trans ideology, that will drive the protective work that we do in the prison system,” she said.