Except exceptional
Yes by all means err on the side of letting violent men be housed in women’s prisons instead of on the side of never doing that ever.
Transgender inmates with a history of violence against women will not be housed in female prisons in Scotland, except in “exceptional circumstances”.
Fuck “exceptional circumstances.” Just don’t do it. There are no circumstances that mean women should take the risk instead of just not housing violent men with women.
The new guidelines confirm an “individualised approach” that any transgender woman with a history of violence against women and girls, and who is assessed as presenting a risk to women and girls, will not be placed in the women’s estate.
The history by itself should be enough, or rather the fact that they’re males should be enough. Just don’t do it.
[C]ritics suggested that the narrow focus on the potential risk of assault ignored the broader impact on fellow inmates. Lucy Hunter Blackburn, from the policy analysts Murray Blackburn Mackenzie, said the prison service “needs to recognise how the presence of someone male might [have an] impact upon group of vulnerable traumatised women, held in spaces from which they cannot escape”.
Vic Valentine, the manager of Scottish Trans, welcomed that updated policy as “recognising that trans people in custody should not be considered to be a risk of harm to others simply because they are trans”, and supported decision-making “on the basis of evidenced risk assessment”.
Yet again the dishonest translation of “male” to “trans.” It’s not because they’re trans, it’s because they’re male. Yes males should be kept out of women’s prisons just because they’re male. That’s the whole point.
If these prison officials are able to tell which currently or soon to be incarcerated men present a risk to women and girls, they should publish how they do it for the good of humanity. These guys have been convicted or confessed to violating at least one law so how do we know which other laws they might decide to violate when they are bored or horny or angry?
True hubris from prison officials claiming that they have knowledge giving them the power to predict a particular person’s behavior when that talent has never once manifested among any other individual or group in the known history of our species.
Once again, redefining “woman” to make it true that TWAW also makes it no longer generally true that biological biological females are “women” in that same sense. If your prison is reserved for “women” in the former sense, it’s no longer for “women” it the latter sense. If you are going to let the TIMs in, you also have to let the biological females out.
Bjarte, since the vast majority of females in prison in the US are there for non-violent offenses, I think letting them out would be justified. Of course, a large percentage of men are also there for non-violent offenses – usually drug use – and I see no reason those need to be incarcerated, either. Society does need to be protected against violence, though I can’t help but think that our current incarceration system is the best, or even a good, way to do that.
Putting violent men in prison alongside non-violent women is in no way justified – even though, of course, some of the women in prison are there for violent crimes. They also should not have to be incarcerated in company with males.