A transgender woman is finally being moved to a female prison after thousands signed an online petition on her behalf

Tara Hudson, 26, from Bath, was born Aaron. But since the age of 20 she has been living full-time as a woman and has had gender reconstruction surgery.

This year she was was jailed for 12 weeks for assault. Since she was still
classed as male on her passport, she was sent to HMP Bristol prison, where 600 men are imprisoned.

Now however, after a change.org petition that attracted over 55,000 signatures, she has been to be moved to another prison for her own safety.

Her mother, Jackie Brooklyn, was outraged by the original sentencing.

She said, ‘There’s nothing male about her, nobody would know the difference.’
‘She looks like a woman. I just feel the men are going to go after her.’

A spokesperson from the prison service said, ‘It is longstanding policy to place offenders according to their legally recognised gender.’

He added,‘There are strict rules in place to ensure transsexual prisoners are managed safely and in accordance with the law.’

A spokesperson from Amnesty International said, ‘We know that trans women placed in prisons with male inmates are put at a heightened risk of physical and sexual abuse and that’s a real concern.’

‘Trans inmates must absolutely not be placed with detainees where violence is a high probability,’ she added.

MP Ben Howlett spoke out against the treatment and raised the issue before Parliament’s Women and Equalities Select Committee.

Hudson has now been given leave to appeal against the sentence itself for the assault conviction.