Facilitating the social transition of a trans female adolescent in a secure children's home: Opportunities and challenges in the youth justice system

The UK 2015 Parliamentary Women and Equalities Committee on Transgender Equality report makes over 30 recommendations in a wide range of policy areas, including on care for children and adolescents as well as on adults in... [ view full abstract ]

The UK 2015 Parliamentary Women and Equalities Committee on Transgender Equality report makes over 30 recommendations in a wide range of policy areas, including on care for children and adolescents as well as on adults in prison and under probation services (House of Commons, 2016). In the context of several recent deaths in custody of trans people in prison, the government report acknowledges the confusion within the prison system around the treatment of this population and calls for a review of relevant statutory guidelines.
However, there is no known guidance which specifically addresses the needs of trans young people in custody. There are few such cases referred to the UK’s child and adolescent Gender Identity Development Service. When seeking to support trans youth to live in their preferred gender, institutions that provide custodial placements must manage anxiety around striking an appropriate balance between the needs of the individual adolescent and the responsibility to manage risk.

This paper explores the opportunities and challenges associated with the process of working with staff in a secure children’s home, to facilitate the social transition of a trans female adolescent for the first time. [ view full abstract ]

This paper explores the opportunities and challenges associated with the process of working with staff in a secure children’s home, to facilitate the social transition of a trans female adolescent for the first time.

This paper is a case study of the work undertaken by the UK’s child and adolescent Gender Identity Development Service with a trans female adolescent who was held on a custodial sentence in a secure children’s home for 18... [ view full abstract ]

This paper is a case study of the work undertaken by the UK’s child and adolescent Gender Identity Development Service with a trans female adolescent who was held on a custodial sentence in a secure children’s home for 18 months.

The paper considers different phases of the social transition achieved through working with the staff there as part of the network model (Eracleous & Davidson, 2009), and draws on a reflective conversation held with them about their learning from this experience.

The first phase of the work involved building relationships, including helping staff draw on their strengths and experiences of the system that they worked in to imagine how such a transition could be thought of as both ethically just and practically feasible.

The second phase of the work involved identifying and enacting specific steps towards the young person being able to live in their identified gender in that setting. This included addressing issues of secrecy, and helping staff to disentangle ethical issues around the expression of identity from the reward/sanction system in operation in that setting.

The young person achieved her goal of leaving the children’s home having made a social transition to her preferred gender. Staff were empowered to use their experiences to examine and develop relevant policies within the... [ view full abstract ]

The young person achieved her goal of leaving the children’s home having made a social transition to her preferred gender. Staff were empowered to use their experiences to examine and develop relevant policies within the home, and to identify themselves as part of a broader network of such settings for children and adolescents in the criminal justice system, that are seeking to improve the quality of care for trans young people.

Policy and practice implications around working with trans young people in secure settings in the criminal justice system are discussed. These include issues around name changes, the possibilities for gender expression, and... [ view full abstract ]

Policy and practice implications around working with trans young people in secure settings in the criminal justice system are discussed. These include issues around name changes, the possibilities for gender expression, and the implications of the physical environments where work takes place.