What does the data say about criminality among transpeople?

Firstly, for perspective: gender-diverse people are underrepresented among the federal prison population in Canada. Per Stats Canada (census), 0.33% of the adult Canadian population identify as trans or non-binary. Only 0.08% of the federal prison population is "gender diverse".

But, from there, we can parse out the criminality profiles among the different cohorts. A note for clarity: the percentage points are not relative to the overall prison populations but refer to the specific cohorts. For example, over 30% of the transwomen prisoners were convicted of homicide, NOT that 30% of those who were convicted of homocide are transwomen.

A presentation of data from Correctional Services Canada

(1) Comparing women, men, transwomen and transmen

2) Comparing transmen and transwomen inmates

3) Offenders with a history of sexual offending - proportional comparison between transmen and transwomen

Summary

Trans-identified people are underrepresented in the Canadian federal prison population overall. Among those convicted, transmen have a higher rate of assault. Transwomen have a higher rate of homicide, assault, robbery, and sexual violence but, score lower on drug-related offences (trafficking).

An analysis of this raw data is outside the scope of this presentation, which would need to take into account additional factors such as childhood abuse, poverty rates and race. Indigenous people are over-represented in the prison population overall (41% of the women, 29.6% of the men, 15% of the transmen, 59% of the transwomen, and 15% of the "other" gender diverse category - who are mostly female). Indigenous women, in particular, are a vulnerable population with higher rates of victimization and poverty. According to the 2018 Survey of Safety in Public and Private Spaces, 63% of Indigenous women have experienced physical or sexual violence compared to 45% of non-indigenous women. 61% of Indigenous women reported intimate partner violence. They account for 24% of all homicide victims despite being only 2-3% of the population. That's 6 times higher than the rate of homicide with non-indigenous women victims .

Of relevance and interest to transmen:

Transmen make up only 38.4% of the gender-diverse prisoners compared to 61.6% transwomen. Most (95%) of the transmen inmates are housed in women's facilities. 66% of the transwomen were housed in a men's facility. None of the transmen were convicted of a sexual offence, but incidents of assault need to be addressed by the transmen community, with better resourcing for variables such as poverty, race, childhood trauma, victimization, and mental healthcare.

Some excellent analyses have already been conducted by Professor Jo Phoenix, which can be found here: https://macdonaldlaurier.ca/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/20230922_We-were-right-Phoenix-COMMENTARY-v5.pdf

For more information:

Correctional Service Canada