Woman spent night in male prison after being mistaken for man

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A woman reportedly spent the night in a male prison in Scotland after authorities mistook her for a man, in a justice system bungle that has sparked a police review.

Police Scotland said it was investigating how the woman’s gender was misidentified, leading her to be remanded in the men’s facility instead of the country’s only women’s prison after she appeared in Kirkcaldy Sheriff Court on October 21.

A force spokesperson said the woman was remanded into the custody of the Scottish Prison Service last Monday with “incomplete information about their gender.”

“We are reviewing our custody procedure to ensure this does not happen again,” the spokesperson said.

The error was first reported by The Telegraph, who quoted a justice system source describing the episode as a “shocker”.

The source told the newspaper: “An assumption was made, based on someone’s appearance and not much else. Gender in the prison system has become such a hot topic that management will be mortified by this.

“It was only when the more thorough search was carried out by prison staff that it came to light that the prisoner was missing some vital parts you might expect a man to have.”

The Telegraph reported the woman was forced to stay overnight in the men’s prison, said to be the maximum-security HMP Perth. Authorities declined to confirm this.

Scotland’s justice system was recently mired in controversy over the topic of gender, when rapist Isla Bryson, who transitioned to female after assaulting two women, was initially housed in a women’s prison before being sentenced in 2023.

The episode prompted the Scottish Prison Service to update its admissions policy last December, clarifying people would be admitted on the basis of their sex at birth.

A Scottish Prison Service spokesperson declined to comment on the woman’s individual circumstances, but said the authority had procedures to keep people safe when admitted into custody, “including keeping them separate from the mainstream population where appropriate.”

“The rights, safety, and wellbeing of all individuals, including those newly admitted to our care, is a key priority,” the spokesperson said.