Judge refuses to order transgender inmate be moved to women's prison
A Canadian federal judge has dismissed a request from a transgender inmate to be transferred from a men's prison to a women's institution. The judge ruled that while the inmate is a woman, the decision must depend on unique safety and risk factors rather than a blanket policy.
Why it matters
The case highlights the ongoing legal and ethical tension between gender identity rights and institutional safety protocols in the prison system.
Amanda Cooper, who has been incarcerated as a dangerous offender since 2001 for crimes committed when she identified as a man, underwent full gender surgery two years ago, and argued she feared for her safety in a men’s prison and was in self-imposed isolation.
Correctional authorities, however, refused the 59-year-old’s requests to move to a women’s institution, citing her risk and the safety of other women inmates. Cooper filed for a judicial review, which was heard last month in Federal Court in a virtual hearing out of Halifax.
“It is not without some reluctance that I thus dismiss this judicial review application, because it means leaving Ms. Cooper, a woman, in a male institution,” Justice Janet Fuhrer said in a decision released this week.
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