Decision to move trans woman prisoner to all-female prison criticised as ‘diabolical’
A transgender prison inmate has been moved to a women’s prison after undergoing gender reassignment surgery.
Jessica Winfield, was moved from the top security Whitemoor prison has been moved to HMP Bronzefield in Ashford, Surrey.
She is serving a life sentence for rape, and previously said she was victimised for her gender identity.
Writing to Inside Time ten years ago, a prisoners’ newspaper, Winfield said she was given a “hard time because of my sexuality, possibly through lack of understanding and empathy”.
She wrote: “I have changed my name to that of a female to prove to the authorities and everyone concerned that I am very serious about my gender and that I do not feel right being a man.”
But her move to the prison has been criticised by campaign groups over her conviction.
Voice4Victims wrote on Twitter: “Rapist has sex change op funded by NHS whilst victims struggle to access treatment support and recovery.”
A victim of Winfield’s crime, committed before her transition, told the Sun that it is “diabolical” that she has been moved to the women’s prison.
“There are not enough words to describe him and the evil he has done.
“It is diabolical they have allowed him to have a sex change and diabolical that he could be freed this year.
“He may have changed physically but his brain is still the same.”
A transgender woman has been found dead in an all-male prison, just two months after a government overhaul of the system supposedly introduced safeguards for trans prisoners.
The UK government had promised a review in 2015 of the way trans people in prisons are dealt with, after two female prisoners died within weeks of each other while being held in all-male facilities.
The review finished in November, with the Ministry of Justice introducing ‘safeguards’ to ensure that transgender people would not be put at risk in prisons inconsistent with their gender.
