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common-myths-debunked [2025/12/25 14:51] – valahcommon-myths-debunked [2025/12/25 14:57] (current) – valah
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 **Claim 2**: "Trans women are convicted of sexual offenses at rates of about 1,177 per million—higher than men's 490 per million." **Claim 2**: "Trans women are convicted of sexual offenses at rates of about 1,177 per million—higher than men's 490 per million."
  
-**Any Claim about**: Over representation of Trans Women in prisons for "sexual offenses," per-capita more likely to commit a "sexual offense," or a claim about being more likely/greater risk/threat to cisgender people because of prison numbers or "The Swedish Study."+**Any claim suggesting**: 
 +  * Over-representation of trans women in prisons for "sexual offenses" 
 +  * Trans women are per-capita more likely to commit "sexual offenses" 
 +  * Trans women pose a greater risk/threat to cisgender people 
 +  * Based on prison composition statistics or "The Swedish Study" 
 + 
 +**All of these claims** rely on the same statistical manipulation techniques and misrepresentations of studies and fact, which we'll break down below.
  
-Both claims cite the same UK Ministry of Justice prison data. Both are statistical manipulation. 
  
 ===== What the Prison Data Actually Shows ===== ===== What the Prison Data Actually Shows =====
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 //Short version: It doesn't support the claims being made, and the author has said so repeatedly.// //Short version: It doesn't support the claims being made, and the author has said so repeatedly.//
 +
 +===== What Counts as a "Sexual Offense" in UK Law? =====
 +
 +Before we analyze the numbers, we need to understand what "sexual offense" actually means in UK law. **It's an extremely broad category.**
 +
 +==== The Full Scope of UK Sexual Offenses ====
 +
 +Under UK law, "sexual offense" includes:
 +
 +**Serious violent offenses:**
 +  * Rape and attempted rape
 +  * Sexual assault and attempted sexual assault
 +  * Child sexual abuse offenses
 +  * Indecent assault
 +
 +**Non-violent and non-contact offenses:**
 +  * Possession of indecent images
 +  * Distribution of indecent images
 +  * Making/downloading indecent images
 +  * Voyeurism
 +  * Exposure/indecent exposure
 +  * Outraging public decency
 +
 +**Sex work-related offenses:**
 +  * Soliciting for prostitution
 +  * Loitering for prostitution
 +  * Controlling prostitution
 +  * Keeping a brothel
 +  * Advertising sexual services
 +
 +**Other sexual offenses:**
 +  * Sexual activity in a public toilet
 +  * Breach of Sexual Harm Prevention Order
 +  * Failure to register as sex offender
 +  * Various consent and age-of-consent related charges
 +
 +==== Why This Matters ====
 +
 +When someone hears "76 trans women sex offenders," most people picture rapists and child abusers. But that category could include:
 +
 +  * Someone convicted of soliciting for sex work
 +  * Someone who failed to register an address change as a former offender
 +  * Someone caught with downloaded pornography
 +  * Someone convicted of public indecency
 +  * Someone convicted of rape or sexual assault
 +
 +**These are NOT equivalent crimes**, yet they're lumped together in the statistics. Without a breakdown, we cannot know the distribution.
 +
 +==== The Sex Work Factor ====
 +
 +Trans women, particularly trans women of color, are **disproportionately pushed into survival sex work** due to:
 +  * Employment discrimination
 +  * Housing discrimination
 +  * Family rejection
 +  * Lack of economic opportunities
 +
 +**Research shows**:
 +  * Trans women are far more likely to engage in sex work than cisgender women
 +  * Trans women in sex work face higher rates of criminalization
 +  * Many "sexual offense" convictions are actually sex work-related charges
 +
 +This means the "sexual offense" statistics may be **inflated by survival crimes**, not violent offenses. Without detailed breakdowns, we cannot determine how much.
 +
 +==== The Emotional Manipulation ====
 +
 +Using the term "sexual offense" without breakdown is **loaded language** designed to invoke fear. It's an appeal to emotion that relies on people assuming all "sex offenders" are rapists.
 +
 +**The reality**: The category ranges from rape to soliciting, and treating them as equivalent is intellectually dishonest.
 +
 +**What we know**: The MoJ data tells us 76 trans women prisoners had sexual offense convictions. **What we don't know**: The distribution of those offenses across the wide spectrum of UK sexual offense law.
  
  

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