Trans prisoner verdict should be 'wake-up call' for Naomi Long, says Doug Beattie
A Scottish judge’s ruling that it is unlawful for trans women to be housed in female-only prisons should be a “wake-up call” for authorities in Northern Ireland – including Justice Minister Naomi Long.
That’s according to MLA Doug Beattie, after campaign group For Women Scotland challenged the Scottish government’s policy on the treatment of transgender prisoners.
On Friday, Judge Lady Ross ruled that while trans prisoners do have qualified rights to live in their acquired gender, they don’t extend to a right to be housed in a prison for the opposite biological sex.
She also stated that guidance from the Scottish Prison Service allowing trans prisoners to be placed in a facility matching their acquired gender rather than biological sex “is in conflict with the requirement that prison accommodation be provided separately for men and women”.
Reacting to the verdict, Mr Beattie pointed out that he’d brought the issue to the assembly last year, only for it to be “decisively defeated by a combination of Sinn Fein, the SDLP and the Alliance Party”.
Said the MLA: “They argued that my proposal, based on sex rather than gender, was not compliant with human rights standards. However, my motion was about protecting women’s rights in custodial settings, in line with the UN Mandela Rules, which are clear that prisoners should be housed with others of the same sex.
“[The verdict in Scotland] aligns with the Supreme Court’s ruling on the definition of sex. I now call on the Justice Minister to review the existing guidance on the placement of transgender individuals in Northern Ireland prisons.
“In the meantime, I intend to table a further motion challenging the current system and those who support the placement of men in women’s prisons.”
Mr Beattie now sits as an independent after leaving the UUP at the end of last month, following a dispute in which he reportedly faced being deselected from defending his Upper Bann seat in the next election.
His current position, he admitted, means it’s not likely his motion will be chosen for debate before the end of the assembly’s current term. He called on larger parties to adopt it into one of their available debate slots “so the people of Northern Ireland can clearly see the position of individual MLAs and political parties as the next election approaches”.
TUV MLA Timothy Gaston hailed the Scottish ruling as “a significant victory for common sense and for the rights of female prisoners”.
“It is a conclusion that should cause serious reflection within the Northern Ireland Prison Service and the Department of Justice,” he said, adding that Scotland’s laws on housing prisoners in male-only or female-only prisons have “striking parallels” with their equivalents in Northern Ireland.
“It is therefore difficult to see how guidance which permits male prisoners who identify as women to be in female prison accommodation can be reconciled with the clear wording of our own statutory framework,” Mr Gaston stated.
This week the assembly is due to debate an amendment to the Justice Bill tabled by the TUV MLA. He argues Friday’s verdict strengthens his position.
“The Scottish court has now confirmed what ordinary people instinctively understand – that policies and guidance cannot override the law, and that the rights of women to single-sex prison accommodation must be respected,” he said.