Should a transgender woman convicted of sexual offences when she was a man be allowed to serve her sentence in a female jail? On Tuesday, a transgender woman, Isla Bryson, was convicted of raping two women after a six-day trial held at the High Court in Glasgow. Having previously been called Adam Graham, she transitioned whilst she was awaiting trial. She is thought to be the first trans woman who has been convicted of raping one or more women in Scotland. During her trial, she was remanded in Cornton Vale’s all-female prison in Stirling. She was transferred back there prior to sentencing. This caused public outrage. It seemingly led First Minister, Nicola Sturgeon, to intervene and announce that Bryson would not be allowed to remain there, although she maintains this was a decision reached by the Scottish Prison Service. Bryson has consequently been moved to a male wing in HMP Edinburgh whilst she awaits her sentencing hearing, which has been listed to take place next month. The stated reasoning behind Bryson’s move relates to concerns raised over the safety of other women if she were allowed to remain in a female jail. Just last month, The Gender Recognition Reform Bill was passed in the Scottish Parliament. It is aimed at making it easier for people to change their legally recognised sex in Scotland, although it has been blocked by the United Kingdom government over its potential impact on equalities laws that apply across Scotland, England and Wales. Nicola Sturgeon’s position is that this Bill does not play any part in Bryson’s case. She says that there is no automatic right for a trans woman convicted of a crime to serve their sentence in a female prison even if they have a gender recognition certificate. Every case is subject to rigorous individual risk assessment and the safety of other prisoners is paramount. UK Justice Secretary Dominic Raab tweeted that transgender women without a gender recognition certificate are sent to male prisons as a matter of course in England and Wales. He added that common-sense changes will mean that transgender women who have committed sex crimes or retain male genitalia (both of which apply in Bryson’s case) cannot be held in women’s prisons, bar the most exceptional cases authorised by Ministers. Shadow Home Secretary Yvette Cooper was also critical of the fact of Bryson having been in a women’s jail. On the Today programme on BBC Radio 4, she said it should be clear that if someone poses a danger to women and has committed crimes against women, they should not be being housed in a women’s prison. She considered it a straightforward issue, which she thought most people would agree with her on. A Stonewall LGBT campaigner spokesperson said it was appropriate that the prison service should individually assess all prisoners and carry out detailed risk assessments that are about the safety of both the prisoner and those that they will be in contact with and that this is already the policy across HM Prison and Probation Service in England and Wales, and the Scottish Prison Service. Bryson’s estranged wife, Shonna Graham, has been reported as having accused Bryson of having been abusive in their relationship, whilst also saying that her former partner’s transition is a sham for attention and that she is attempting to fool the authorities. During her rape trial, Bryson said that she is currently taking hormones and seeking surgery to complete gender reassignment. At the time of the first rape, in 2016, she said she was struggling with her sexuality and having issues emotionally. The second rape took place in 2019. She met both her victims online. Nicola Sturgeon has gone out of her way to stress that there is no suggestion, even inadvertent, that trans women somehow pose an inherent threat to women. Rather, it is predatory men, as has always been the case, who are the risk to women.  However, as with any group in society, a small number of trans people will offend and, where that relates to sexual offending, public concern is understandable.