British Columbia to Grant Transgender Prisoners Option to Transfer from Male to Female Prison

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In a first of its kind, BC Corrections has granted a preoperative transgender inmate the right to transfer from a male to female prison, according to a report from the Georgia Straight.

Bianca Bailey Sawyer, a transgender woman who was serving time at the Kamloops Regional Correctional Centre, was transferred from the all-male facility to Alouette Correctional Center, a female prison, on September 30.

Currently restricted under the BC Ministry of Justice Adult Custody Policy, transgender inmates are technically not allowed to be transferred to opposite-gender facilities unless they have undergone a "surgical removal of sex organs."

Ontario made a change to the province's law earlier this year that relieved transgender inmates of a requirement to prove their gender via physical anatomy, instead allowing people to register by what gender they identify as.

As of today, there are no official statistics on how many transgender inmates there are in Canada.

Sawyer, who is currently in the pre-op stage of transitioning, said that she was extremely happy about the change in location, according to a letter sent to the Straight.

"For three days my face hurt from smiling," she said.

She also told Global News that the reason for wanting to switch prisons was due to the harassment she faced at the Kamloops facility, noting that she felt depressed and disconnected while at the all-male prison.

Since switching to the Alouette facility in Maple Ridge, BC, Sawyer said that things have improved drastically.

BC Minister of Justice Suzanne Anton told Global News that the approval of Sawyer's request to switch prisons is apparently part of an upcoming change to policy for transgender inmates that will be drafted soon.

"The details of the policy are still being worked out," Anton said. "It will be a very progressive policy. It will allow people to be placed according to their gender identity."

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