Tara Hudson has lived as a woman for her entire adult life but is being sent to an all-male prison

A petition has been launched to stop Tara Hudson, who has lived as a woman for her entire adult life, from being sent to an all-male prison.

Hudson, 26, pleaded guilty to assault last Friday and has been sentenced to 12 weeks at HM Prison Bristol.

However, campaigners from the Bath Gender Equality Network have launched a petition calling on her to be sent to an all-female facility instead.

The Change.org petition, which more than 9,000 people have signed, explains:

In an era of unprecedented victories for LGBT rights, people like Tara Hudson are still paying a high price at the hands of an outdated and outmoded judicial system, simply for being who they are.

The petition, which has been given the blessing of Hudson's mother Jackie, states that while Tara's passport states she is male, she has in fact undergone six years of gender reconstruction surgery and has been medically declared a woman by her doctor.

Ceri Jenkins, the co-founder of the network, told the Bath Chronicle: "I personally cannot even begin to imagine what Tara and her family are going through at the moment."

She added:

We decided to start the petition to let her know she's not alone, and she has so many people in her corner. Trans and other LGBT 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.

The petition also claims that transgender people are some of the most at-risk members of the prison system in Britain and that transgender women are 13 times more likely to be victims of sexual assault in all-male prisons.

A Prison Service spokesman told the Bath Chronicle on Monday evening: "It is long-standing 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."

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