Tara Hudson, a 26-year-old trans woman who has lived as a woman for all of her adult life, undergoing six years of gender reassignment surgery, is currently serving a 12-week sentence in a reportedly violent men’s prison in Bristol after a judge ruled that the gender on her passport (male) would be the deciding factor, rather than documentation from her doctor confirming that she is medically a woman.
An appeal hearing has been granted after a Change.org petition set up by Ceri Jenkins of the Bath Gender Equality Network gathered more than 113,000 signatures in just a few days. The appeal hearing will take place between 10am and 1pm tomorrow, Friday 30 October.
Tara’s mother Jackie has been able to speak to her daughter, but unfortunately in the run up to the hearing, Tara’s news from HMP Bristol is very upsetting. “I spoke to Tara today and she told me she is getting loads of sexual harassment and abuse,” Jackie told reporters, according to an update on the Change.org petition.
“She is segregated to a point, but on the wing where she is being held, a man in the next cell has tried to commit suicide several times while she was there,” Jackie continued, adding that, “They are constantly shouting her name and asking her to show them her boobs. Although she is locked up 23 hours a day, she has to mix, and when she does, they are sexually harassing her”.
“It is the news we were all so fearful of, and I know everyone reading this will be deeply distressed,” Ceri Jenkins writes in the update on the petition site. “I hate to bring such a disturbing update, but this proves that now, more than ever, that Tara needs us,” Jenkins emphasises, asking supporters to share the petition, write to local and national decision makers and use the #IseeTara hashtag across social media.
Sign the petition Stop Transgender Woman Tara Hudson From Being Sent To An All-Male Prison in Bristol on Change.org.