Transgender Prisoners in Australia: An Examination of the Issues, Law and Policy

Abstract

This article presents an overview of the treatment of transgender people in Australian prisons. It commences by considering the key issues faced by transgender prisoners, including the risk of harm by others and self-harm, the need for and challenges in accessing medical intervention, and the choice of where to house prisoners. Next, the article presents an overview of some recent Australian cases involving transgender people, especially in the context of harm, allegations of discrimination and the relevance of transgender status to bail and sentencing decisions. The specific experience of Indigenous transgender people is also considered. The following section describes the extent to which transgender issues are explicitly acknowledged in sentencing and corrections legislation, followed by a detailed analysis of each jurisdiction’s policies on managing transgender prisoners. The article concludes by calling for policy and legislative reform to appropriately manage the special needs and vulnerabilities of transgender prisoners.

Keywords: Australia, transgender, LGBTIQ, prison