Transgender prisoner moved after uproar

After a public outcry on social media, a transgender woman from England being detained for a visa violation has been moved from an all-male jail to a female prison.

Avery Edison was detained at Pearson Airport Tuesday for overstaying her visa on a previous visit. The British comic and transgender woman started live tweeting the experience.

It became apparent authorities were going to keep her overnight, but girlfriend Romy Sugden says it it seems they didn’t know where to put her.

Edison tweeted from custody: “Change of plan again. Will be moved soon to Maplehurst Correctional Facility and assessed by a nurse before placed in male or female cell.”

Sugden says for the last five years all of Edison’s legal documents — including her passport — say she is female.

“Eventually when she disclosed or they found out, I’m a little fuzzy on that, that she had not yet had her gender reassignment surgery, that’s when they decided she’d be going to the men’s prison.”

Sugden was able to speak with Edison around 2 am, and she was upset and frustrated.

Many of Edison’s more than 16,000 Twitter followers tweeted their frustrations as well, and after a few hours behind bars at Maplehurst — she was eventually moved next door to Vanier women’s prison.

Sugden says she was shocked to discover how little protection trans people have under Ontario law.

“You’re putting the hands of where you’re going, what your safety psychologically and physically in the hands of whoever is on shift that day. They might not be educated. They might not be informed.”

“They may have their own biases and prejudices against trans people.”

Sugden believes Edison is lucky her large social media following was able to mobilize her move into the women’s facility. “That’s how we were able to make the change in this case. Most trans men and women don’t have that and they’re just stuck languishing wherever they’re put.”

Edison will be held at Vanier one more night before she’s flown back to England, but Sugden says she wants to see the province make changes to better protect the rights of trans men and women.