With Islam’s strict rules on modesty and segregation of the sexes, single-sex spaces matter to Muslim women. If Muslim women no longer have a private, female-only space, they will be forced to self-exclude from sports, public changing rooms and toilets, and even domestic violence shelters.

In his latest article for The Countess, prison consultant Gearóid Ó Loingsigh reviews a report published recently by the Inspector of Prisons announcing plans to develop a national policy for the “safe” custody of trans identified males. Ireland’s self ID laws put the Irish Prison Service’s policies in conflict with the UN Standard Minimum Rules...

In an unprecedented departure from the historical method of counting how many males and females are in the State on the night of April 3rd, 2022, the CSO has advised trans identified people to select BOTH Male and Female on their forms. The CSO will then randomly assign their sex. This is not a viable...

In this insightful piece, a Countess Staff Volunteer from Russia, who wishes to remain anonymous due to the sensitive subject matter, gives us her perspective on the Russian invasion of Ukraine.She traces the friendly relationship between the two countries since the collapse of the USSR 30 years ago, and explains that many Russians believe...

In his latest piece for The Countess, Consultant on Prisons, Gearóid O Loingsigh gets to the heart of the problem of male violence against women. Approximately 90% of MVAW occurs in the home. In February 2021, Safe Ireland[1]Safe Ireland (2021). Tracking the Shadow Pandemic – Lockdown 2. A report on women and children seeking support from...

The danger of trans-identified male prisoners being housed in women’s prisons has been highlighted recently in the UK, with the Judicial Review Case brought by a female prisoner who claims she was sexually assaulted in Downview Prison by a trans-identified male prisoner with a Gender Recognition Certificate (GRC).