A 38-year-old transgender woman in Hokkaido who has been convicted of theft has asked the Justice Ministry and local prosecutors to be treated as a female inmate in prison despite being registered as male in her family registry.
She has been living as a woman and wants to be treated by female prison officers and continue receiving hormone treatment, a source close to her said Tuesday.
She was indicted last year without arrest for shoplifting in the city of Sapporo. A district court handed down a prison sentence of 18 months, and the judgment was upheld by a high court. In July, the Supreme Court rejected an appeal and the convict is set to be imprisoned soon.
She also served 16 months in prison between 2011 and 2013 for theft and complained of mental anguish as a result of being overseen by male prison guards as well as palpitations and insomnia after being deprived of the chance to undergo hormone therapy.
The place of imprisonment is determined according to sex indicated in family registries, but even without any changes made in the registries, transgender women can be overseen by female officers if they have had all male genitalia removed, according to the Justice Ministry.
But the woman has only had testicles removed and has not changed sex in the family registry.
Continued:
https://japantoday.com/category/crime/transgender-convict-seeks-to-be-treated-as-female-inmate-in-prison
