Trans Rapist Isla Bryson Won’t be Jailed in a Women’s Prison

By Aryn L

Warning: this article may contain distressing content for some readers

Isla Bryson was found guilty of two counts of rape at the High Court in Glasgow on the 24th January 2023. She committed the crimes in Clydebank and Glasgow in 2016 and 2019, before she changed her gender. After being convicted, she was taken to Corton Vale, a women’s prison, but was moved to HMP Edinburgh’s men’s prison on Thursday. This took place after Nicola Sturgeon announced she wouldn’t be allowed to serve her sentence at Corton Vale. She is due to be sentenced next month.

What makes this case so significant?

Currently, there’s a dispute between the Scottish and UK government about trans rights The Scottish gov. proposed a law to simplify and speed up the existing process by which people can get a gender recognition certificate. However, the UK gov. vetoed it on the premise of equality for girls and women, making it harder for people in Scotland to legally change their gender.

Sturgeon has said that these proposed changes did not play a part in the Bryon case.

As she was awaiting trial, she began transitioning. This case is believed to be the first time a trans woman has been convicted of raping women in Scotland.

Rhona Hotchiss, the former governor of Corton Vale said she would have refused to accept Bryson into the prison. She has frequently criticized the Scottish government’s gender reforms and suggested that cases like Bryon’s would become a “bigger problem” if the Gender Recognition Reform Bill was enacted.

She stated that it was “simply not acceptable” to allow all trans prisoners to go to a jail matching their gender identity- "It's unbalancing rights. They are not considering the rights of women; they are only considering one side of this equation. It seems to me quite wrong."

However, it’s important to remember that Bryson’s case does not represent the trans community, as Sturgeon made clear- "This individual case is not about whether they are trans or not, in this individual case this is a person who's been convicted of rape, so this individual is a rapist and a sex offender and that is what's important."

Sturgeonclaimedsomecriticsofherlegislationhad "decidedtousewomen'srightsasasortofcloakof acceptabilitytocoverupwhatistransphobia".

Source: BBC website