Transgender people in prison in England and Wales: policy and practice in a culture of penal populism' in Transgender People Involved with Carceral Systems

Hughes, Caroline and Gorden, Caroline (2024) Transgender people in prison in England and Wales: policy and practice in a culture of penal populism' in Transgender People Involved with Carceral Systems. In: Transgender People Involved with Carceral Systems. Routledge Taylor & Francis Group, Oxford, pp. 385-404. ISBN 9781003169796

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Abstract

Since the first introduction of policy on the care and management of transgender people in prison in England and Wales in 2011, several further policies have been implemented. This chapter traces the introduction and implementation of these policies and discusses the social and political underpinnings that navigated their evolution. The policies developed to reflect wider social values, but changes also occurred in response to issues of risk and dangerousness associated with placing transgender women in female establishments. Research about transgender people’s experiences in prison in England and Wales is extremely limited. Therefore, insights are gained via high profile cases reported upon widely in the media, with HM Inspectorate Annual Reports providing indications that the care and management of transgender people in prison falls short of policy expectations, albeit varyingly according to staff and prison culture of different institutions. By culture, we mean the general customs and beliefs of criminal justice staff that may be understood against the backdrop of punitive legislation and policy in England and Wales. There appears to be increasing recognition that transgender people in prison present with multiple and complex needs and some changes in policy are positive. These advancements, however, are undermined by the neoliberal agenda that promotes punitive treatment of those who break the law. Thus, prisons in England and Wales operate within a context that serves to exclude and criminalise, making it difficult to implement policies and practices aiming to promote equality, dignity, and well-being.

Item Type:	Book Section
Keywords:	Transgender people, prisons, discrimination
Divisions:	Social and Life Sciences
Depositing User:	Hayley Dennis
Date Deposited:	21 Apr 2026 09:39
Last Modified:	21 Apr 2026 09:39
URI:	https://wrexham.repository.guildhe.ac.uk/id/eprint/18432

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