A policy of placing trans women in female prisons unlawfully discriminates against other women by exposing them to an increased risk of sexual assault, the High Court has been told.
A female prisoner, known only as FDJ, is bringing a legal challenge against a Ministry of Justice policy.
It allows prisoners to be housed according to their gender identity irrespective of whether they have taken any legal or medical steps to acquire that gender .
The woman argues the policy indirectly and unlawfully discriminates against women who were born that gender.
At a High Court hearing on Tuesday, lawyers for FDJ argued that accommodating transgender women in the female prison estate exposes female prisoners to a risk of sexual assault that would not arise absent that allocation .