15-05-2025
Transgender woman held in all-male jail complains of discrimination because staff address population as 'gents', 'lads' and 'fellas'
A transgender inmate has complained about being 'devalued' in an all-male prison because staff use everyday phrases like 'Right lads', 'OK fellas', and 'Come on gents'.
Raiven Clench is currently serving time at HMP Holme House in County Durham but has lodged a formal discrimination complaint over the way prison officers address inmates.
Writing in the latest edition of prisoners' newspaper Inside Time, Clench, who identifies as a woman, claimed she felt 'degraded' by the casual language used by staff when addressing the prison population.
She said: 'I am a transgender in a male establishment, and while some accept me for who I am, there seems to be an established culture to denigrate and belittle members of the LGBT-plus community.
'Despite DIRF submissions, nothing changes.'
She went on to say: 'The thing that really drives me nuts is the way we are called to lock up.
'Phrases like 'Right lads', 'OK fellas', and 'Come on gents' are used as a catch-all, making me devalued and degraded.
'As I understand things, officers undergo equality and diversity training to ensure all prisoners are treated with, and spoken to with, respect, including how they identify and wish to be addressed.'
Clench, who is being held in a Category C facility that houses around 1,200 male inmates, claims to have raised the issue with senior staff but said she was left feeling 'invisible'.
Each year, HMP Holme House receives around 120 Discrimination Incident Reporting Forms (DIRFs), relating to allegations of bias based on protected characteristics such as gender, sexuality, race, religion, age or disability.
There are thought to be approximately 270 transgender prisoners in the UK, and prison officers are regularly sent on training courses to help avoid offending trans inmates.
Charlie Taylor, the Chief Inspector of Prisons, praised Holme House in a recent report for making 'considerable efforts' to improve the handling of such complaints.
He noted: 'There had been considerable efforts to improve both accountability and transparency of the discrimination incident reporting form (DIRF) process.'
The jail also runs a monthly Diversity and Inclusion Forum where prisoners can raise issues directly with management.
Prison guidelines outlined in the Prison Service Instruction (PSI) document 'The Care and Management of Transgender Offenders' stress that inmates must be addressed in line with the gender with which they identify.
The PSI states: 'Individuals who are transgender must be allowed to adopt a gender-appropriate or gender-neutral name and be addressed by others consistent with the gender with which they identify, or as gender-neutral.
'Staff must make every effort to communicate with individuals in ways that respect their gender identity, using appropriate verbal and written communication and use of pronouns.'
Transgender prisoners are also entitled to wear clothing, make-up and prosthetics in line with their gender identity provided they meet decency standards and do not pose security risks.
The guidance adds: 'Clothing, hair, make-up, prostheses and other accessories may be subject to risk, security and operational assessments which will be discussed at a local transgender case board.'
