‘Campaigners’ tell Tory MP that trans women prisoners shouldn’t go in women’s prisons
A Tory MP has held a meeting with anonymous campaigners who say that trans women should be forced to undergo gender reassignment surgery or be banned from women’s prisons.
A meeting was hosted by Tory MP David Davies, the MP for Monmouth in South Wales.
During the meeting, anonymous campaigners said that trans women should not be allowed in women’s prisons unless they undergo gender reassignment surgery.
This is despite that not all trans people choose to have the surgery.
One campaigner said: “Inmates should have to be post-operative to be moved, it’s as simple as that.
“There have been several instances of men in prison who have committed sexual offences registering as women in a bid to be transferred to women’s prisons.
“If they have previously committed sexual offences against women and still have perfectly working male sex organs, how on earth can we let this happen? It’s a very worrying trend.
“If you were born a man with male genitals, you shouldn’t be put in a women’s prison, or a women’s hospital ward or a woman’s changing room or any other area where women have a reasonable expectation of privacy.”
Davies himself has a long history of anti-LGBT comments.
In a column for his local newspaper, the South Wales Argus, Mr Davies said that transgender women “should be expected to use male facilities” until they have gender reassignment surgery.
The MP was reacting to a government proposal to streamline the system for transgender people to gain legal recognition.
CARDIFF, WALES – FEBRUARY 27: Conservative MP for Monmouth David Davies speaks during day one of the Welsh Conservative Party Conference at the SWALEC Stadium on February 27, 2015 in Cardiff, Wales. Britain goes to the polls in a general election on May 7, 2015. (Photo by Matthew Horwood/Getty Images)
The change does not have anything to do with access to bathrooms, but has been pounced upon by anti-trans activists to spread ‘bathroom’ fears akin to the US.
In his column Mr Davies said: “I suspect it will be impossible to express even the slightest concern about this without being accused of a host of ‘isms’ – but I am going to try.”
He added: “We cannot consider the rights of transgender people without considering the rights of others.
“If a man decides to register him/herself as a woman, should he/she have the right to use women’s toilets, changing rooms, hospital wards, etc.? This would clearly have an impact on the rights of women using those facilities.
“Some might say I am on the ‘wrong side of history’ and ‘bigoted’. But I would maintain that anyone in possession of male genitalia should be expected to use male facilities regardless of what gender they feel they are.”
Mr Davies is no stranger to ‘isms’, having previously described same-sex marriage as “barking mad” and suggested most parents would prefer their children “not to be gay”.
Justifying his opposition to equal marriage, Davies had said: “I think most parents would prefer their children not to be gay, knowing most parents want grandchildren if nothing else.”
He later dismissed accusations that he is a homophobe by citing his participation in an amateur boxing match against a gay fighter.
Mr Davies said: “Once fought gay boxer. Respect & like.trained with after bout so not bigoted. actvists calm down- listen to other views.”
He has also claimed that LGBT-inclusive sex education might encourage children to have gay sex.
In an interview the MP said: “I suppose, at a certain level, I see heterosexual sex as being – and it’s probably the wrong word to use – but the norm. I think it’s reasonable to say that the vast majority of people are not gay.”
“I just worry if children are going to be taught that [heterosexuality] isn’t necessarily the norm, and that you can carry on doing all sorts of other things, are we going to have a situation where the teacher’s saying, ‘Right, this is straight sex, this is gay sex, feel free to choose, it’s perfectly normal to want to do both. And you know, why not try both out?’ I mean, are we going to have that?”
In the same interview the MP had also recounted, unsolicited the story of a friend who had come out as gay before getting married to a woman, describing their sexuality as a “bit of a funny phase”.
