Paris Lees: I receive more abuse from transgender people and feminists than the men I met in prison

The transgender rights activist has admitted her jail-mates were kinder than her peers online.

Transgender people and feminists are more abusive than the criminals in a prison, Paris Lees has said.

On the latest episode of Unfiltered with James O'Brien, the presenter talked extensively about her experiences of drug use, prostitution and robbery - culminating in incarceration. "I was reckless, I was easily led," she said. "I was having sex for money when I was 14."

But the abuse she has received in recent years from other members of the transgender community and feminists online puts her time in jail to shame: "I have experienced more abuse from other transgender people, or women purporting to be feminists, than I have heterosexual men in prison."

Paris arrived at prison 16 years old and in a state of trauma. She spent the first three nights on the hospital wing, crying perpetually.

She said: "That first night in prison - in the past my dad had made me watch the film Scum, maybe as a warning. It's a film that stays with you, it's iconic.

"I had an idea that this was going to be bad and I just couldn't stop crying. They had to put me in the hospital wing for the first three nights and I just cried and cried and cried and cried.


"It felt like the end of the world, how the hell am I going cope with this? It was awful, it was horrendous. Then they put me on the vulnerable prisoners unit because I think they were quite concerned about me.

"There weren't quite as many rough lads on that wing, but it was prison, right?

"There was a lot of suicide attempts and stuff. It was weird. I really tried my best to conform, I had what I thought was my lad's voice. It must've sounded like Eliza Doolittle trying to sound posh, can you imagine me trying to sound like a boy?

"In the end I think I loosened up a little bit because I got on well with all the screws and I ended up doing the laundry.

"Obviously woman's work - I'll get torn apart for that. Obviously I am joking.

"When people realised that I wasn't a threat they liked me, and I became their strange fruit - Leesy. 'Leave Leesy alone.'

"This is the maddest thing, I have experienced more abuse, by many measures from other transgender people or women purporting to be feminists than I have heterosexual men in prison.

"I was treated better in prison by a bunch of young hoodlums than I have by some of these disgusting people on the internet who tweet abuse at me every single day, relentlessly.

"I made friends in there and people said that I had changed their views about stuff."

Listen to the latest episode of Unfiltered with James O'Brien wherever you get your podcasts.