Activists gathered at Cornton Vale to protest the placement of Fife paedophile Katie Dolatowski in Scotland’s female-only prison.
On Saturday, around 50 activists stood outside the Stirlingshire jail chanting slogans such as “no males in female jails”.
Dolatowski, 22, is male but identifies as a woman and was incarcerated after breaching a curfew imposed at Kirkcaldy Sheriff Court in October.
A sentencing hearing for attacking another inmate within the male estate at Polmont is due to take place in January.
Women at the protest said the inmates at Cornton Vale were being used “sacrificially”.
‘What about the victims?’
Serena Arif, who travelled from Aberdeen to take part, said: “A 6’5” male has been moved from a male prison into a female prison.
“We have women in Cornton Vale who are sacrificial for this male’s feelings, because he identifies as a woman and wants others to be compelled to the same.
“We’ve got males being put into women’s prisons and the women can’t speak up for themselves.
“Dolatowski is a paedophile, a predator, and was put in prison for that – what about the victims?”
Calls to protect female inmates
Dundee woman Claire Blom added: “It’s absolutely appalling that sexual predators that are male are being housed in women’s prisons with vulnerable women.
“Katie Dolatowski has been rewarded for offences of aggression and sexual offences.
“The women here are some of the most vulnerable in society and we have a duty of care to protect them and we’re not doing so.
“We should be keeping them safe and not housing them in a prison – where they have no means of escape – with sexual offenders.
“It’s disgusting.”
‘A cruel system’
A spokeswoman for the Scottish Feminist Network, which organised the protest, said housing Dolatowski in Cornton Vale was “the ultimate slap in the face for female survivors of male violence”.
She said: “How cruel must you be to think placing convicted sex offenders in the same prison space as vulnerable women, the majority being survivors of male violence, is acceptable?
“How terrifying must it be to be trapped with violent males without escape? What a cruel system the government operates in Scotland.
“They have chosen to prioritise predators wishes over women’s needs for safety and privacy.
“This is not progressive, nor is it inclusive.
“That’s why we are protesting.
“The government may not value these women but we’re here today to tell them and the government, that the women in Cornton Vale and across the female prison estate matter and we will raise our voices on their behalf.”
Gender Recognition Reform bill defeated by committee
The protest comes days after the Scottish Government committee charged with shaping the Gender Recognition Reform Bill voted against a proposed amendment that would have prevented convicted sex offenders from applying for a Gender Recognition Certificate to legally change their sex.
A Scottish Prison Service spokesperson said: “All trans men and trans women in our care are risk assessed to ensure they are accommodated in a way which meets the rights and needs of the individual, as well as others in the establishment.
“Where there are any concerns about any risks posed by an individual, either to themselves or others, we retain the ability to keep them separate from the mainstream population until an agreed management plan is in place.”
Dolatowski’s previous offences
In March 2018, Dolatowski sexually assaulted a 10-year-old girl in the toilet of Morrisons supermarket in Kirkcaldy.
The terrified youngster was grabbed by the face, shoved into the cubicle, and ordered to remove her trousers.
The attack came a month after Dolatowski had filmed a 12-year-old girl on the toilet in another supermarket in the Fife town.
The court imposed a three-year community payback order and a ban from having contact with children for the sex offences.
There was outrage when it was discovered Dolatowski had been placed in a woman-only hostel.
In April 2019, a prison warning was given for “alarming” internet searches noted by social workers.
The predator breached sex offender notification requirements in October of this year and was jailed after breaching the curfew that had originally been imposed.
