Campaigners Challenge Scottish Policy on Transgender Inmates in Female Prisons
Campaigners have launched a legal challenge against Scottish government guidance on housing transgender prisoners, arguing it contradicts a landmark supreme court ruling. The group For Women Scotland is objecting to the use of individual risk assessments, claiming this approach undermines women-only spaces as defined in equalities law.
Judicial Review Hears Arguments on Prison Policy
At the Court of Session in Edinburgh, Aidan O'Neill KC presented the case for For Women Scotland, criticising what he described as an "Orwellian" policy. He argued that female prisoners are paying the price for a system that allows some transgender inmates to be housed in women's prisons based on risk assessments rather than biological sex.
O'Neill challenged the Scottish government's position that a blanket rule could contravene obligations under the European Convention on Human Rights. "There is no case law from Strasbourg which says that trans-identifying male prisoners have to be accommodated within the women's prison estate," he stated. "What the Scottish ministers are asking the court to do is to go beyond where the European court of human rights has reached on this point."
Political Motivations and Prison Service Data
The KC suggested Scottish ministers were motivated by political calculation, stating: "What is happening here is that women in prison are being treated and used by the Scottish government in this case to be traded as pawns for political gain." He described female prisoners as "an ultra-vulnerable population" and expressed concern about biological men convicted of serious violent offences being placed alongside them.
According to Scottish Prison Service data from June 2025, there were 19 transgender inmates in Scotland, with 80% accommodated in prisons aligning with their biological sex. O'Neill questioned why the SPS, experienced in handling vulnerable men, did not create special facilities for transgender prisoners. "It's women who are paying the price again," he emphasised.
Political Responses and Background Context
Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar pledged before the hearing that he would act to ban transgender prisoners from women's jails "within days" if elected first minister in May's Scottish parliament elections. First Minister John Swinney has acknowledged strong feelings on the issue but maintained his government's responsibility to ensure policy compatibility with convention obligations.
The current policy was adopted following public outcry over the case of Isla Bryson, a transgender woman who committed two rapes while living as Adam Graham and was initially sent to Cornton Vale women's prison for assessment. For Women Scotland brought the original challenge that resulted in last April's supreme court ruling defining woman in equalities law as biological sex alone.
The UK government continues to consider new guidance on how public bodies and businesses should apply this ruling regarding transgender women in women-only spaces. The judicial review represents a significant development in the ongoing debate about rights, safety, and policy implementation in Scottish correctional facilities.
