Debate contribution: Prisoners: Biological Sex
Debate contribution by Mrs Naomi Long on .
- MLA
- Mrs Naomi Long
- Party at the time
- Alliance Party
- Date
- 13 January 2025
- Type
- Debate contribution (made as a minister)
- Business
- Oral Answers to Questions
- Heading
- Prisoners: Biological Sex
- Assembly identifier
- Official Report component 4738083
Read the official Assembly record
Text
With your permission, Mr Speaker, I will answer questions 3 and 12 together. I believe that both questions have been prompted by erroneous reporting of a recent court case and wish to clarify the position. An application for leave to issue a writ of habeas corpus was lodged, alleging that an applicant's detention at the instruction of the court in a male prison was unlawful. The application was dismissed by the court with no order as to costs. The judge made no order in respect of Prison Service policy or transfer to Hydebank Wood College. During the hearing, the judge was advised of the process that was ongoing to confirm the most suitable location for the applicant and was satisfied that the process should be allowed to conclude. As per the wishes of previous Ministers of Justice, the Northern Ireland Prison Service had a long-standing, albeit unwritten, position of dealing with transgender prisoners on a case-by-case basis. However, following the deaths of two transgender prisoners in English prisons and issues in Scottish prisons, a decision was taken to put in place a formal process. An instruction to governors with guidance on the care and management of transgender prisoners was subsequently issued in August 2022. That followed a review of the current arrangements and was developed after consultation with the Equality Commission and the South Eastern Health and Social Care Trust. When an individual who identifies as transgender is committed to custody by the courts, the Prison Service will consider their specific needs and risks on a case-by-case basis and take a person-centred and risk-based approach to decisions around accommodation and care informed by advice from colleagues in the South Eastern Health and Social Care Trust, which is responsible for the delivery of healthcare services to people in prison. It would be dangerous to give a commitment that a male prisoner will never be housed in a female prison or vice versa, as there may be unique risks and issues that lead to such a situation. The risks presented by each case will be assessed on their merits. To that end, Hydebank Wood College and Women’s Prison is already a mixed-gender site where the risks of holding males and females in separate accommodation are managed daily. I am satisfied that the Prison Service remains committed to ensuring that people in prison are held safely and securely at all times and are treated with dignity and respect.
405 words. Text as published by the Northern Ireland Assembly.
Assessment
Jev’s structured answers met the documented threshold for “not flagged”.
- Overall probability that the activity is being used to promote, exploit or escalate an identity-based controversy: 0.11 (flagging needs at least 0.70; at or below 0.30 is not flagged).
- None of the five culture-war criteria was met (each was below 0.60).
- Assessed as legitimate policy scrutiny (0.84).
- No identity-based framing was identified (0.95).
- Subject area: Gender, sexuality, abortion and related social issues.
- The overall probability was at or below the not-flagging threshold.
This is an AI-generated assessment of the text, made against published criteria. It is not a finding of fact about the MLA or their intentions. The Assembly record itself is the fact.
Jev’s structured answers
| Question | Probability | Met? |
|---|---|---|
| Identity framing | 0.07 | No |
| Sectarian or communal antagonism | 0.03 | No |
| Cultural grievance politics | 0.02 | No |
| Dog-whistle messaging | 0.05 | No |
| Controversy escalation | 0.07 | No |
| Legitimate policy scrutiny | 0.84 | Yes |
| Overall judgement | 0.11 | At or below not-flagging threshold |
| Option | Probability |
|---|---|
| No identity-based framing (chosen) | 0.95 |
| Reports or questions it | 0.05 |
| Criticises or condemns it | 0.00 |
| Adopts it | 0.00 |
| Subject | Probability |
|---|---|
| Gender, sexuality, abortion and related social issues | 0.94 |
| Sexism, misogyny, ageism and other equality groups | 0.05 |
| Another identity-related subject | 0.01 |
| No identity-related subject | 0.00 |
| Flags, emblems, symbols, names and memorials | 0.00 |
Assessed 21 October 2026 at 11:42 UTC by jev-1.13.0 (requested as typesafe/jev) under rubric 2026.10-r9, methodology 1.9.
Disagree with this assessment?
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