Almost two thirds of transgender women in prisons who are legally recognised as men have been convicted of sex offences, new figures show.
Some 151 of the 245 trans women in prison at the end of March 2024 have been convicted of at least one sexual offence, according to government figures.
This is a rate of 62 per cent and is an increase on previous figures which showed that 49 per cent of trans women who reported their legal gender as male had a conviction for a sexual offence.
This rate is far higher than that of the male prison population as a whole - with about 17 per cent of men in prison in England and Wales having been convicted of sexual offences.
It comes as new figures show there were 295 prisoners who identify as transgender and do not have a Gender Recognition Certificate (GRC) at the end of March - an increase of 9.7 per cent from 2023.
Of these, 245 identified as trans but reported their legal gender as male and did not have a GRC, an increase of 8.9 per cent from 2023.
Meanwhile there were 50 prisoners who identify as trans but reported their legal gender as female and did not have a GRC at the end of March, an increase of 13.6 per cent from 2023.
Some 244 of these prisoners were held in the male prison estate with the remaining 51 held in the female estate.
In 2023 the rules were changed to prevent trans women with male genitalia, or those who had been convicted of a violent or sexual offence, from being held in the women’s prison estate. Exemptions to this rule can still be considered by ministers in ‘exceptional circumstances’.
The move followed high profile cases including that of Isla Bryson, who began identifying as a trans woman while awaiting trial for two rapes.
Bryson was convicted of rape in February 2023 and jailed for eight years. She was first sent to the all-female Cornton Vale prison in Scotland before being transferred to a male prison after the case sparked public outrage.
Data from the Ministry of Justice also reveals there were 10 prisoners that had been issued with a full GRC - meaning they have legally changed their gender under the Gender Recognition Act - a reduction of 3 since 2023. These prisoners were not included in the transgender prison figures.
Separate data revealed in response to a written parliamentary question shows that 151 of the 254 trans prisoners who reported their legal gender as male at the end of March were convicted of a sexual offence.
Meanwhile five or fewer of the 50 trans prisoners who reported their legal gender as female were convicted of a sex offence, a rate of up to ten per cent. This is a reduction on the previous rate of 13 per cent but is higher than the female prison population as a whole, with about 2 per cent of women in prison in England and Wales for sex offences.
A Ministry of Justice spokesman said: ‘Well over 90 per cent of transgender women in custody are held in the men’s estate and those who’ve been convicted of sexual or violent offences - and/or who retain male genitalia - cannot be held in a women’s prison unless in truly exceptional circumstances.’
