XVII Harry Benjamin International Gender Dysphoria Association Symposium
31 October - 4 November 2001, Galveston, Texas, U.S.A.

Transsexual and Transgender People in the Criminal Justice System, A Pilot Study: Evaluating and Meeting Needs

WHITTLE, STEPHEN U.K.
E-mail: stwhittle@ntlworld.com

In early 2001, the U.K.’s Home office provided a small grant for a pilot study of the needs, and a possible mechanism for ascertaining and of meeting them of transsexual and transgender people in the Criminal Justice System. This study came out of the increasing recognition of the problems faced by transsexual and transgender people when facing incarceration, and at their arrival within a custodial setting. Further, the U.K.’s prison medical service has now been transferred into the National Health Service, and therefore prisoners are by law entitled to receive the same standard of service they would receive outside in the community. The paper will look at the results of the study of transsexual and transgender prisoners, and the probation service officers who work with them during their pre-trail and post-trial period. In particular the study looked to discover a point within the probation officer’s work where they could address the needs of the transsexual person within their working career, the methods they would then use to find out information about the person’s needs, and what mechanisms would be used to inform others of those needs whilst retaining maximum confidentiality about the nature of these needs particularly if related to intimate health care matters. Further, we interviewed prisoners and former prisoners to determine which matters became of particular concern. This was very enlightening as an analysis of the day to day life of a transsexual or transgender prisoner indicated many matters, which might not be thought to be particularly of concern, for example the privacy needs of post-operative transsexual women to dilate. This paper will report back on our findings both with prisoners and probation officers, indicate further work that is indicated in the area and conclude with our recommendations to date.