A women's rights group has renewed its call for transgender prisoners to be held in separate wings after an alleged sexual assault at Christchurch Women's Prison.

The prisoner has been placed in isolation while police investigate that and a number of other allegations against them, Corrections told Newshub.

"Safety is our top priority," said prison director Deborah Alleyne.

"The prisoner who is the subject of the allegations currently has no contact with any other prisoners while the investigation takes place.

"The person who has raised the allegations spent three-and-a-half weeks in custody on remand during April. On each occasion that she raised concerns while in prison, these were acted on by staff. This included moving the prisoner to another unit."

There are presently six transgender prisoners in women's facilities, out of an estimated 30-40 overall. Alleyne said transgender prisoners are eligible for placement in a facility that matches their gender identity as long as they're not serving time or on remand for serious sexual offences against that gender, or haven't been imprisoned for sexual offences against that gender in the previous seven years.

Speak Up For Women spokesperson Ani O'Brien said an urgent conversation was needed around what to do with transgender prisoners accused or convicted of sexual offending.

"Let's get to a point where we can have a civil and reasonable discussion where women's advocates can come to the table, as well as trans rights activists," she told Newshub.

"Women are not safe if they put male-bodied people in women's prisons, so for us the alternative is to house them separately - where they're safe and women are safe."

Derided by other feminists as 'TERFs' - which stands for trans-exclusionary radical feminists - Speak Up For Women has been criticised by trans rights activists and even MPs.



"Defining 'What is a woman' is what patriarchy does," Green MP Catherine Delahunty said on Twitter last year, while Labour's Louisa Wall made headlines when she said TERFs wouldn't be welcome at this year's Pride Parade.

O'Brien said the term TERF wasn't fair.

"You've just got one side being allowed to dictate what's happening, and on the other side - where we're trying to advocate for women - we're being told, 'No, your advocacy isn't advocacy - it's bigotry.'"

Newshub.