Female Inmate Sent to Men's Prison After An 'Assumption' Was Made Based on Her Looks: 'This Is a Complete Embarrassment'

Scottish authorities accidentally sent a woman to an all-male prison after incorrectly processing her due to her "masculine" features, sparking an investigation into the incident.

The woman, who appeared at Kirkcaldy Sheriff Court in Fife, was transferred to HMP Perth, a maximum security, all-male prison. Once authorities realized their mistake, the woman was kept in segregation and then transferred to Cornton Vale, a women's jail, the next day, as reported by the Telegraph.

"This is a complete embarrassment for everyone involved," said one source to the Telegraph. "Taking a female to a male prison and leaving her there is a shocker."

The source continued, "An assumption was made, based on someone's appearance and not much else. Gender in the prison system has become such a hot topic that management will be mortified by this."

"Sex matters and the police need to stop playing silly games and restore sanity to the system," the Campaign Group for Women Scotland told the outlet.

Last year, the Scottish Prison Service (SPS) send a transgender woman, Isla Bryson, to a women's prison after she was convicted of raping two women in 2023. Bryson committed the crimes before she transitioned.

This decision sparked a public outcry critical enough to encourage authorities to move Bryson to a male prison estate, despite the fact that she now identified as a woman.

According to Scottish Prison Service (SPS) guidance, transgender convicts were to be incarcerated at jails that matched the self-identified gender they had chosen prior to conviction.

"On Monday 21 October, an individual was passed into the custody of the Scottish Prison Service with incomplete information about their gender," a spokesperson for Scottish police told the Telegraph. "We are reviewing our custody procedure to ensure this does not happen again."