Transgender prisoner Barbie Kardashian is standing trial in Limerick accused of making threats to kill or cause serious harm – including threats to rape and sexually assault – a number of people, including a female prison officer.
Women’s rights group, The Countess, says the case highlights the need for political support for a bill it drafted which would ensure that men could no longer be housed in women’s prisons. Founder of the organisation, Laoise de Brún, noted that “a request made by Kardashian’s legal representative on behalf of Kardashian, that the jury not be informed of his gender recognition certificate, original name, or the nature of the threats he made, was denied by the judge.”
The legislation drafted by The Countess with Aontú, would amend the Gender Recognition Act – under which a person can change sex by swearing a statement to that effect – to ensure that prisons can act to prevent males being housed in female prisons.
Barbie Kardashian, (22), of no fixed abode, is accused of three counts of making to Roisin Linnane a threat to kill or cause serious harm to Ms Linnane, who was working as a prison officer at Limerick Prison, on the pertinent dates, April 25th, 2023; June 9th, 2023; and June 11th, 2023, the Irish Mirror reported.
Ms Kardashian is accused of making a threat to Tegan McGhee, who the court heard was “an inmate at Limerick Prison”, to kill or cause serious harm to Ms McGhee on February 25th, 2023. The jury members heard that some of the threats involved rape or sexual assault.
Representing the DPP, prosecuting barrister, John O’Sullivan, said the accused was born a male “with the birth name, Gabrielle Alejandro Gentile, to Venezuelan parents in Co Meath”.
“The accused has identified as a female, and, in June 2020 the accused changed names by deed-poll to Barbie Kardashian, and successfully applied for a gender recognition certificate, and changed from male to female on the 18th of August, 2020,” Mr O’Sullivan said.
“The allegations against the accused are threats to kill or cause serious harm, and there may be mention of threats to rape and or cause sexual assault,” Mr O’Sullivan continued.
A number of prison officers from Limerick prison, as well as Ms McGhee are due to give evidence before the court and a jury of seven women and five men. The trial begins hearing evidence today.
The Countess previously said that “the system of gender self-identification introduced in the Gender Recognition Act 2015 has led to the housing of male prisoners within the women’s prison estate in Ireland. Concern for the vulnerable women housed with these men was a catalyst for the founding of The Countess in 2020.”.
De Brún said “No man should ever be housed in female prison regardless of how they identify. Men and women have been housed in separate prisons since the Prisons (Ireland) Act 1826. One of the many unintended consequences of the 2015 GRA has been a reversal of this policy of sex separation, which was brought about by reformers like Elizabeth Fry to protect female prisoners from male prisoners”.
De Brún said that the only solution is to limit the scope of the effect of the Gender Recognition Certificate to protect women from being at risk from sharing prisons with men who identify as women.