Isla Bryson, the transgender double rapist controversially placed in a women’s prison last year, has claimed to be the victim of “misgendering”, “hate crime”, and “transphobia” in prison.
Bryson – born Adam Graham – had been charged in 2019 with sex offences against two women before transitioning in 2020, but was remanded to female-only HMP Cornton Vale under Scottish Prison Service SPS guidance that, for trans people, “establishment allocation should usually be the new gender in which they are living”.
Then-Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon was reported to have personally intervened in the case in order to have Bryson moved to HMP Edinburgh after a barrage of criticism from across Scotland and the UK over the safety implications of holding a rapist in a women’s facility.
But now, the 32-year-old offender has spoken out about life in HMP Edinburgh. In a scathing hand-written letter to Scotland’s Sunday Mail, Bryson alleged to have been subjected to “transphobia” by prison staff, and claimed governors had been told to treat trans women in the SPS “like men” – labelling the treatment as “disgusting and a hate crime”.
Bryson had initially been placed in a women’s prison, before Nicola Sturgeon intervened to have the double rapist sent to men’s facility HMP Edinburgh
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In the letter, Bryson said that despite being on testosterone blockers, having breasts, and not “sound[ing] like a man any more”, staff “refused” to provide female toiletries and makeup.
The convict also claimed to have had a five-month-long relationship with a fellow prisoner who had been jailed for child sex abuse and drug offences, as well as a three-week relationship with another inmate named Colin.
The double sex offender added: “I want to make this clear, I don’t like women, I’m only into men.”
Natalie Beal, the governor of HMP Glenochil – the male prison to which Bryson reportedly forced a move – had written to Bryson last month to apologise for how they were treated.
MORE ON ISLA BRYSON:
Bryson has complained about being made to wear men’s clothes in prison, and claimed to have been given the nickname “Mrs Doubtfire”
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In Beal’s letter, she stated that following an incident in which an SPS officer referred to the rapist as “son”, the officer immediately “apologised after realising their mistake”.
The note to the Sunday Mail isn’t the first written complaint aired by the offender. In July last year, Bryson had said: “I’m not doing too good because of abuse from the staff members, all because I am transgender, and other prisoners too.
“This jail is full of transphobic people. The police are involved because of the abuse to do with my gender. People won’t stop being transphobic.”
While in yet another letter, Bryson complained about being made to wear men’s clothes in prison, and claimed to have been given the nickname “Mrs Doubtfire” by fellow inmates.
The SPS has said it is committed to promoting a culture of equality of opportunity and diversity, while it is understood the service provides unisex clothing to prisoners based on individual needs.
A spokesperson for the Scottish Prison Service said: “We do not comment on individuals.”
The letters follow a barrage of criticism levelled at the SPS earlier this year after it failed to release prisoners’ views on trans inmates in Scotland as part of a review into its transgender prisoner management policy.
And despite the outcry over the Isla Bryson case, the service’s official policy still allows transgender women to be placed in female jails, under certain conditions.
Source Agencies
