October 8, 2024 Bridge Team

Transgender prisoners will receive consideration for separate accommodation in prisons to be constructed in the future, it is learnt.

Speaking to The Daily Morning on 03rd October, Prisons Department Media Spokesperson and Prisons Commissioner Gamini Dissanayake said that due to the current facilities in prisons, improving the rights of transgender prisoners and giving them their own space have been challenging; however, he is hopeful that this can be accomplished when new prisons are built.

“This is an issue due to overcrowding; however, we always try to accommodate transgender prisoners who have the official identity card,” Dissanayake added. “If they don’t have the identity card that affirms their preferred gender, we will take them to a doctor who will assess if they can be considered a transgender. Based on the medical advice that we receive as well as the preference of the particular inmate in question, we will make a decision on how to appropriately accommodate them.”

Nevertheless, Dissanayake said that a risk of transgender recognition in prisons is that sex offenders may identify as transgender and misuse their rights. Dissanayake said that in order to avoid this, a person’s past criminal history as well as their behaviour will be looked into. “This is usually a danger when males who are accused of rape or sexual assault are imprisoned with females,” Dissanayake said. “We however don’t see a lot of sexual abuse based criminal activity by those who were born female but have transitioned to male.”

This follows a discussion that was held yesterday between the Prisons authorities and the Committee for Protecting the Rights of Prisoners (CPRP), on accommodating the rights of the transgender community in the prisons system, among others.

“A lot of developed countries have recognised transgender rights,” CPRP President attorney Senaka Perera said. “We need to consider this too, so, in prisons that are to be constructed in the future, we hope to give transgender persons – who may or may not have an identity card issued to them – a separate place, especially if they are non-binary in terms of gender, and a choice in where they are held. Such a place can be constructed within the prisons hospitals too.”

Since June, 2016, Sri Lanka permitted transgender individuals to obtain a gender recognition certificate in order for them to be recognised in the gender of their choice.

Source: https://www.themorning.lk/articles/E5eVATR1Yh5uNt7XXACr