An appeal by a transgender woman to be moved from an all-male prison to a female prison was granted Friday, shortly after it was initially dismissed by a judge at Bristol crown court.
After being sent to an all-male prison following a drunken attack on a bar manager, Tara Hudson, 26, applied to serve her 12-week sentence in an all-female prison instead.
Hudson lost her appeal in the courts, but after protests in the area and multiple petitions signed by thousands of people, Hudson was reportedly moved to HM Prison Eastwood Park, an all-female prison in South Gloucestershire Friday.
The judge who initially denied her appeal, Recorder Llewellyn Sellick, said it was for the prison service to decide where Tara Hudson's sentence would be served.
"It is for this court to decide the appropriate sentence," he said, according to Metro. "If that sentence involves custody it is for the prison service and not this court to decide in which establishment this sentence is to be served."
Campaigners concerned for her safety gathered outside the court to protest against the decision.
Hudson pleaded guilty to an assault that took place on Boxing Day in 2014 and was given a 12-week sentence at the male prison in Bristol, despite having lived as a woman her entire adult life.
During an interview with ITV West Country yesterday, Hudson's mother, Jackie Brooklyn, said her daughter, who has had six years of gender reassignment surgery, had said she was being sexually harassed by male prisoners.
"Men are constantly shouting at her from their cells, asking to see her boobs," Brooklyn said.
"She's not in isolation, she's on a healthcare wing next to men. It's very distressing for her.
"She was only given clean underwear yesterday, before that she was wearing the same clothes she went to prison in."
Over 140,000 people have signed a Change.org petition calling for Hudson to be moved.
The petition claims the court's initial decision not to move Hudson was a "breach of her human rights, and place[d] her in extreme danger of abuse, sexual violence, and even death".
One of the campaigners and creator of the petition, Ceri Jenkins, said: "Trans and other LGBT (lesbian, gay, bi-sexual, transgender) people are fighting a constant battle against oppressive systems and ideologies, and this can be so exhausting and disheartening.
"They need allies to step up to the plate, to help raise their voices, and to lift them to a place where they can be heard for themselves."
In a statement, a Prison Service spokesperson said of Hudson's sentence: "It is longstanding policy to place offenders according to their legally recognised gender.
"There are strict rules in place to ensure transsexual prisoners are managed safely and in accordance with the law."