Isla Bryson, a transgender woman, was convicted in 2023 of raping two women in 2016 and 2019. The offenses were committed when Bryson was known as Adam Graham.
Following a six-day trial at the High Court in Glasgow, Bryson was found guilty on January 24, 2023. The judge, Lord Scott, said that a "significant custodial sentence" was inevitable. On February 28, 2023, Bryson was sentenced to eight years in prison, with an additional three years of supervision upon release. Bryson was also placed on the Sex Offenders Register for life.
The case sparked a public controversy, particularly regarding the initial placement of Bryson in a women's prison after the conviction. Following public backlash, Bryson was moved to a male prison. An urgent review was ordered by Scotland's Justice Secretary, Keith Brown. The Scottish Prison Service (SPS) subsequently halted the movement of all transgender prisoners with a history of violence against women into the female prison estate until a wider policy review was complete. As of July 2023, a 24-year-old man had been charged in connection with an alleged hate crime reported by Bryson at HMP Edinburgh.
The case also became a point of debate in the context of the Scottish Parliament's passage of the Gender Recognition Reform (Scotland) Bill, which was later blocked by the UK Government. In a recent interview, former Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said that Bryson is "a biological male," and that anyone who commits the "most heinous male crime against women probably forfeits the right to be the gender of their choice."
