K Shanmugam on housing transgender prison inmates

As a rule, prison inmates are housed in a male or female institution based on their registered sex and not their self-identified gender. The primary consideration is their safety. There may be situations where it may be better not to house an inmate with other inmates of their registered sex for safety reasons. For example, a male inmate who is transitioning and who has developed female features may not be completely safe to be housed together with other male inmates. On the other hand, inmates in a female institution may not feel comfortable with a former male who has just completed transitioning to female. In such cases, they may be housed alone in individual cells within the institution of their registered sex or in a shared cell with other inmates who are in the same situation. Home Affairs Minister K Shanmugam explained his ministry’s approach in reply to an MP’s question in Parliament on Tuesday (Nov 7), following the debate over the conviction of a transgender person in Scotland for double rape who was initially put in an all-female jail.