A masculine-presenting cis woman in Scotland was misgendered and mistakenly sent to a men’s prison, news outlets in the U.K. report.

“It was only when the more thorough search was carried out by prison staff that it came to light that the prisoner was missing some vital parts you might expect a man to have,” one source shared with The Telegraph.

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The unidentified prisoner appeared in court last week and was remanded to the men’s facility instead of the country’s only women’s prison. Exactly where the mix-up occurred was unclear. The “bungle” has sparked a police review.

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“An assumption was made, based on someone’s appearance and not much else,” said a source. “Gender in the prison system has become such a hot topic that management will be mortified by this.”

The source called it an “embarrassment for everyone involved.”

The woman spent the night in the all-male prison after the mistake was uncovered. She was transferred to a women’s jail the following day.

Police Scotland said the incident was under investigation after “incomplete information about their gender” resulted in the woman’s incarceration in the wrong facility. “We are reviewing our custody procedure to ensure this does not happen again,” they added.

Last year the Scottish Prison Service (SPS) was plunged into controversy after backlash over the conviction of trans woman Isla Bryson, who was sentenced to eight years in a women’s prison after being found guilty of sexually assaulting two women before transitioning.

SPS has since instituted guidelines that would remand prisoners found guilty of violent crimes to a facility that aligned with their sex assigned at birth except in “exceptional circumstances.”

There were 23 transgender prisoners in Scotland as of January 2023, 19 of whom are trans women, according to SPS. Prison officials wouldn’t comment on the misgendered detainee but said the rights and well-being of all prisoners were a priority for the system.

“We have procedures in place to keep everyone safe when newly admitted, including keeping them separate from the mainstream population where appropriate,” they said.

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