Tara Hudson, a transgender woman who has been serving a 12 week sentence, is to be released from prison early. Tara came to public attention and received international attention when she was initially sent to an all-male facility following her sentencing due to the fact that she did not have a Gender Recognition Certificate, despite living the majority of her life as a woman.
Tara was originally sent to Bristol Prison to serve her sentence, but after the incident was brought to public attention a petition was launched, that quickly gained more than 150,000 signatures to have her moved to a female facility. Her case was also raised in parliament and during the Women and Equalities select committee's inquiry on transgender equality.
Despite some criticism from certain members of the public, who felt that someone who had lived their entire life as a female should be placed in danger of physical and sexual assault in male prison simply due to not having a certain piece of paperwork, Tara was quickly moved to Eastwood Park Prison, where she will be released this coming Thursday (3rd December).
Tara's mother, Jackie Brooklyn, has confirmed her release to the Bath Chronicle, and has said, 'I think it's done her quite good because hopefully she's had time to reflect. I just don't want her to drink again because drinking can cause loads of trouble. It's a very dangerous substance.'
Whilst Tara was luckily moved into the correct facility, the same was sadly not done for Vicky Thompson, who was found dead in her cell earlier this month. She was also assigned to a male facility because she did not have a Gender Recognition Certificate.
Thankfully the Ministry of Justice has released a statement confirming that the policy on where to place transgender prisoners is already underway.
Amy.
xx
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