Tool 5: Places of Deprivation of Liberty and Gender Box 19: The Prisons and Probation Ombudsman for England and Wales’ independent investigation and recommendations for the care and management of transgender prisoners The Prisons and Probation Ombudsman (PPO) is an independent organization that investigates deaths and complaints in custody. The PPO noticed that although historically there had not been many complaints from or deaths of transgender people in custody, the numbers had been rising. In response, the PPO conducted research on the care and management of transgender prisoners, which resulted in a “Learning lessons bulletin”. Lessons learned as a result of speaking directly to prisoners included the following. Ê Allegations of transphobic bullying and harassment should be meaningfully investigated so prisoners have confidence in the process. Ê Officers should have regular, meaningful contact with transgender prisoners; staff should be aware of their vulnerabilities, and challenge inappropriate behaviour. Ê Reasonable adjustments should be made for transgender prisoners to help them to live in their gender role when such adjustments can be made safely without compromising security. The bulletin was timed to coincide with and complement an official Prison Service instruction to all staff on “The care and management of transgender offenders”. Sources: Prisons and Probation Ombudsman (2017) “Learning lessons bulletin: Transgender prisoners”, London: PPO; National Offender Management Service (2016) “The care and management of transgender offenders”, London: NOMS. There is also a less formal, yet still important, way that civil society can be involved in monitoring places of deprivation of liberty. When the community regularly interacts with and enters places of deprivation of liberty in the roles of teachers, healthcare workers and religious and cultural groups, there is a greater chance that the community as a whole will feel that they understand what happens inside places of deprivation of liberty and less chance of impropriety on the part of the prison administration.* Research and capacity building In many cases there may be a desire to improve integration of a gender perspective within places of deprivation of liberty, but resources are not available. Civil society organizations may have access to financial, expert knowledge and time resources that are not accessible within state institutions themselves, and partnerships between state and civil society can become invaluable. Many university social science departments have experts who specialize in a variety of topics that can lead to valuable efforts to mainstream a gender perspective, including specialists in gender equality, prison education and rehabilitation, mothers in prison, the experiences of transgender prisoners, strategies to reduce SGBV, prison masculinities, etc. Equally, there are many national and international NGOs and charities that work across specific thematic areas and can help to pilot new projects, highlight the positive and negative aspects and consequences of different models, and situate reforms in the local context (see Boxes 18, 20 and 21). * For more information on internal and external inspection and monitoring see A. Coyle and A. Fair (2018) A Human Rights Approach to Prison Management. Handbook for Prison Staff, 3rd edn, London: Institute for Criminal Policy Research. 45