A Monitoring Guide 69 In the view of the CPT, “transgender persons should either be accommodated in the prison section corresponding to their gender identity or, if exceptionally necessary for security or other reasons, in a separate section which will best ensure their safety. If accommodated in a separate section, they should be offered activities and association time with the other prisoners of the gender with which they self-identify49.” The Nelson Mandela Rules specify that prison file management should “enable the determination of the prisoners’ unique identity, respecting his or her self-perceived gender” (Rule 7.a). This provision should be understood as intending to facilitate the placement of transgender detainees in facilities – whether male or female − of their choice. Even in facilities where allocation is dependent upon self-identified gender, it is essential that placement decisions have the consent of the detainees concerned, as some may prefer to be housed in facilities for their birth-assigned sex for reasons such as safety, work opportunities, or proximity with relatives. Trans detainees may refrain from requesting formal legal gender recognition for fear of being transferred to another section of the prison or another facility. This is particularly the case of trans men, who may fear to be automatically transferred to a male prison. The Special Rapporteur on Torture recommends not only to “take individual’s gender identity and choice into account prior to placement”, but also to “provide opportunities to appeal placement decisions.50” Similarly, the Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions has urged States to ensure that “judicial and prison authorities, when deciding allocation of transgender person to either a male or female prison, do so in consultation with the prisoner concerned and on a case-by-case basis” and noted that “safety considerations and the wishes of the individual must be paramount.51” CPT’s visits to Spain, CPT/Inf (2017) 34, para. 95. Report of the UN Special Rapporteur on Torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment to the UN Human Rights Council, A/HRC/31/57, 24 February 2016, para. 70 51 Report of the Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions on a gendersensitive approach to arbitrary killing, A/HRC/35/23, June 2017, para 110 (e). 49 50 Chapter III tainees regarding the most suitable allocation should not only take place upon admission, but throughout the period of detention.