Since @NoXYinXXprisons shared the article about males in female prisons I've seen a number of tweets saying that of course "intact" males shouldn't be in female prisons but males without genitalia can be. I disagree. Here's why....
To be open, I don't believe that you can change sex, males without genitalia are just that, males without genitalia. I believe that women (and indeed men) are entitled to single sex spaces, no justification required.
Vulnerable male prisoners should, of course, be supported and protected but that's an issue for the male prison service, female prisoners are not human shields.
So rather than creating ever more novel conversation's about which males to allow into female spaces - does he have a penis? Is there a Y in the month? why don't we take a really novel approach and centre women (adult human female) in our thinking?
Female prisoners are some of the most vulnerable members of our society, many of these women have been subjected to sexual violence and abuse at the hands of men. They know what a man is - the gait, height, voice, demeanour, all the things that make a man a man genitals or not
These women have no choice in the decision making process that means they have to share space and/or showers with males who say they are women, they can't leave at the end of the day and if they use the wrong pronouns they lose what meagre privileges they have.
This is not trauma informed support for vulnerable women, the current prison system prioritises the feelings of men who say they are women over the safety, dignity and privacy of women.
That women constantly have to share their trauma to "justify" why we want single sex spaces is shameful. I hope one day it will be enough for women to say they want single sex spaces and for that to be respected and accepted, but as we are not in that world I'll share
the following statistics that I believe supports my position. Over 30% of female prisoners report a history of sexual abuse Almost 60% of women reported experiencing domestic violence
There is a high prevalence of significant head injury amongst female prisoners (78%). Many such injuries are caused by a male partner Almost 50% of female prisoners have mental health problems Rates of self-harm are 5 times higher than in the male estate
#KeepPrisonsSingleSex
