Irish PM accepts violent men should not be allowed in women’s prisons

Ireland’s Prime Minister has accepted that men with a history of violence should not be allowed in women’s prisons.

Taoiseach Leo Varadkar made the comment when challenged about the case of Gabrielle Alejandro Gentile, known as ‘Barbie Kardashian’, who was imprisoned in a segregation unit in a female prison after he threatened to rape and murder his mother.

Varadkar acknowledged the case’s similarities with that of convicted rapist Adam Graham in Scotland, who was placed in a women’s jail before a public backlash prompted the Scottish Prison service to change its policy “to make sure that women were protected”.

‘Risk’

Minister for Justice Simon Harris acknowledged “there is no circumstance, regardless of gender, where anybody should be at risk of violence in a prison”.

He said the Irish Prison Service is finalising its policy on the issue in the coming weeks, but that it would be “informed by best international practice”.

Currently, prisoners are placed in the jail directed by court and are only subject to a risk assessment upon arrival.

Great Britain

Under new rules introduced in England and Wales, the majority of male prisoners who claim to be women will no longer be allowed to be housed in female jails.

Deputy Prime Minister and Justice Secretary Dominic Raab announced that “transgender offenders who have committed sexual or violent crimes or retain male genitalia will not serve their sentence in a women’s prison, unless explicitly approved at the highest level”.

Previously, any male prisoner claiming to be a woman could be placed in a women’s jail on the basis of a risk assessment.

In Scotland, pending the results of the Scottish Prison Service’s 2019 review, no man in jail with a record of violence against women will be transferred to a female prison, and only in “exceptional circumstances” could a new convict with such history be placed in a women’s jail with ministerial approval.