“Trans man” abuses women in the women’s prison in Chemnitz, Germany

There are currently more than 200 women from Saxony and Thuringia in the Chemnitz prison. Wikimedia Commons , Sandro Schmalfuß, CC-BY-SA-3.0

Sex scandal in a women’s prison? The day before Minister of Justice Katja Meier (44, Greens) visited the Chemnitz prison today (Thursday), allegations against an imprisoned trans woman were causing quite a stir. While the head of the department did not go into detail about the case during the visit, head of the prison Michael Brinkmann took a stand.

That’s what it’s all about: In several letters, women made serious accusations against a trans man who was also imprisoned. The inmate had repeatedly forced other women to perform sexual acts.

After the allegations emerged, the inmate was transferred to a men’s prison last November, as prison warden Brinkmann announced in response to a TAG24 enquiry.

However, he did not confirm the alleged abuse in his prison – there were “no known specific cases of sexual abuse or other incidents of criminal relevance”.

But how did the trans man end up in a women’s prison in the first place? According to the Federal Constitutional Court, assigning a person’s gender solely on the basis of external sexual characteristics is not permitted. For this reason, “an appropriately sensitive approach must be taken” when transferring a person to a prison, says Brinkmann.

Inhaftierte belästigt? Riesenwirbel um Missbrauchs-Vorwürfe im Chemnitzer Frauenknast (tag24.de)