Isle of Wight prison inmates given 'gender pronoun' badges

A high security prison that holds rapists, sex offenders and paedophiles is distributing pronoun badges to inmates as part of a so  called gender identity inclusion drive.

HMP Isle of Wight - whose former inmates include paedophile Gary Glitter and the Kray twins - announced its equalities team would be handing out the preferred gender pronoun badges as part of National Inclusion Week.

The category B prison, which is made up of HMP Albany and HMP Parkhurst, has unveiled six purple badges with pronouns including 'he/they', 'her/they', 'she/her' and 'they/them'. 

The badges include a mix of non-binary options and one that reads: 'Ask me!'  

HMP Isle of Wight, which is set across two sites, has more than 1,000 inmates – including sex offenders.

The Government's guidance on the prison reads: 'Isle of Wight is committed to providing a safe, secure and decent rehabilitative environment where men can learn new skills to help them in custody and on release.'

In March the prison's parole board released a 14-page document called 'Guidance on Prisoners who are Transgender'.

It advised parole panel members to check a prisoners' preferred 'form of name and term of address'.

It said: 'This may require confirming at the appropriate point during introductions, how the prisoner wishes to be addressed in the hearing, then using the chosen name and gender-appropriate form of address. 

The document said if a prisoner was incorrectly addressed with the wrong pronoun 'an immediate, simple apology is appropriate'.

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