Scottish activists challenge placement of transgenders in female prisons

Prison. Photo: Anadolu Ajansı

On February 3, 2026, the activist group For Women Scotland initiated legal proceedings against rules of the Scottish Prison Service that permit some biological men to serve their sentences in women’s prisons if they identify as women, European Conservative reports.

The activists say the current policy violates the principle of single-sex spaces and creates a threat to the safety and dignity of women prisoners, including those who have survived violence. They argue that the prison rules disregard legal protections based on biological sex.

In court, a representative of the claimants said the authorities are using women prisoners for political purposes, and that the arguments offered in support of the existing rules lack sufficient legal grounding.

The Equality and Human Rights Commission stated that admitting biological men to female jails deprives such institutions of their single-sex status. The Scottish authorities say that the placement of transgender prisoners is carried out after an individual risk assessment, and the case will continue.

Earlier, the UOJ reported that in the United States, incidents of violence have increased in women's prisons in connection with the practice of placing men who identify themselves transgender together with female inmates.

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