Equality Tasmania welcomed the Custodial Inspector’s concern about the safety of LGBTIQA+ prisoners, following reports of assaults against gay men in Tasmanian prisons. In a December 2024 statement, Equality Tasmania spokesperson Rodney Croome said the organisation was “alarmed by repeated cases of abuse and violence against LGBTIQA+ people” and called for stronger policies and training to protect them from hate-motivated attacks.
While Women Speak Tasmania supports the call for safety for all prisoners, we are deeply concerned that the same level of attention and compassion is not extended to women in women’s prisons, especially in light of the Department of Justice’s development of a Trans and Gender Diverse Prisoner Policy.
Policy without Women’s Input
The Department of Justice is developing this new policy in consultation with its LGBTIQA+ Reference Group, but no women’s organisations have been invited to participate. This exclusion is concerning, given that the policy will directly affect women’s safety, privacy, and dignity in custody.
According to the Tasmania Prison Service Director’s Standing Order 2.15 (2018), transgender prisoners are to be managed as the gender with which they identify, and—except where safety or security is compromised—they may be housed in the prison of their identified gender. In practice, this means that male-born offenders who identify as women can be placed in women’s prisons, including the Mary Hutchinson Women’s Prison.
Recent national cases show the risks of such decisions. Two trans-identifying male sex offenders have been placed in women’s prisons, one of whom raped a female inmate in her cell. Another violent offender in New South Wales has applied to be transferred to a women’s facility.
These cases highlight the serious safeguarding failures that can occur when gender identity overrides biological sex in custodial policy.
Inconsistent Concern for Vulnerable Groups
Mr Croome has called for special protections for gay men in prison, describing their victimisation as “hate-motivated abuse” and demanding stronger institutional safeguards. Yet, when it comes to women in women’s prisons—including lesbians—his advocacy has been notably absent.
In a public discussion about a trans-identifying male who raped a woman in an Adelaide women’s prison, Mr Croome dismissed segregation or sex-based protections as “unprincipled.”
“You don’t seem to have an answer to cases like this except segregation. For me segregation is never an answer. It will probably not be funded and it is unprincipled.” — Rodney Croome
This response shows a troubling double standard. Why is the abuse of gay men in men’s prisons rightly recognised as a hate crime, while the rape of women by male offenders in women’s prisons is treated as an unfortunate side effect of “inclusion”?
Lesbians are women. Women in custody are among the most vulnerable members of our community. Their safety and dignity should not be compromised to uphold ideological positions.
A Call for Balance and Inclusion
Women Speak Tasmania calls on the Tasmanian Government to:
- Include women’s organisations in the consultation process for the Trans and Gender Diverse Prisoner Policy.
- Ensure that the policy prioritises the safety, privacy, and consent of female prisoners.
- Maintain consistency between government policy on sex-based crime data and the management of offenders in custody.
As Dr Elizabeth Caballero of Women Speak Tasmania stated in her recent correspondence to the Attorney-General and Minister for Women:
“Policies that directly affect the safety and rights of women in custody cannot be developed without the input of women’s groups.”
Protecting one vulnerable group should never come at the expense of another. True equality means acknowledging that women’s rights, safety, and voices matter too.
References:
Tasmania Department of Justice, Director’s Standing Order: Transgender, Transsexual and Intersex Prisoners, 2018 –https://www.justice.tas.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0020/562016/2-15-Transgender-Prisoners-DSO_VER-2.pdf
Equality Tasmania Media Release, “Focus on Safety of Tasmanian LGBTIQA+ Prisoners Welcomed” 24 December 2024 – https://equalitytasmania.org.au/focus-on-safety-of-tasmanian-lgbtiqa-prisoners-welcomed/
The Daily Telegraph, “Transgender sex worker who helped kidnap, torture elderly man applies for women’s prison stay” – 11 October 2025 –
The Australian, “I was sexually assaulted by a trans inmate in a women’s prison, says Katie” – 10 October 2025
The Australian, “Father who sexually abused five-year-old daughter now in female prison after identifying as a woman” – 28 September 2025 –