05/07/2018

As a result of an investigation, the Ombudsman has formed the view that the Department for Correctional Services failed to amend a transgender prisoner’s gender on its records, and to identify her at all times by her chosen name.

The Ombudsman accepted that the department was aware that the prisoner had identified as a female since 1986, and by the name ‘Krista Richards’, having previously settled a legal dispute concerning her treatment as a transgender prisoner in 2015, which resulted in her transfer to a women’s section of Port Augusta Prison.

The Ombudsman’s view was that there were no proper grounds for the department’s refusal to amend its records and identify Ms Richards by her chosen name, and that it had been aware of these issues as early as 2015 yet failed to take steps to address them until after it had been notified of the investigation in September 2017.

The Ombudsman considered that the department’s actions were improperly discriminatory and wrong for the purposes of the Ombudsman Act 1972. The Ombudsman recommended that the department apologise to Ms Richards and amend its policy in relation to transgender prisoners.

The department accepted the Ombudsman’s provisional recommendations prior to the finalisation of the investigation.

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