Female prison guards are having to strip search the top half of transgender inmates before male colleagues check their lower region, MailOnline has learned.
In a bizarre procedural ruling, jail guards are doubling up when searching transgender inmates who leave prison for hospital appointments or court appearances.
Trans criminals caged at HMP Dovegate have reported two female guards are used to check the top half of their bodies while two male colleagues check below the belt.
The inmates subjected to the searches say they feel 'humiliated and violated' by the additional checks by male officers, which leaves their confidence 'shattered'.
However, women's rights campaigners have this morning lashed out and accused the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) of breaching the 'human rights' of female officers.