Denise Martin Is Fighting For The Right To Go To Jail - As Long As It's A Women's Prison. Martin, one Of Ireland's First Transsexuals Who Had A Full Sex-change Operation 22 Years Ago, faces A Prison Sentence Next Month After Refusing To Pay A Fine Over A Breach Of The Peace Offence In Her Home Town Of Larne.

The Slender, 45-year-old Bleached Blonde Could Find Herself In The All-male Top-security Maghaberry Jail Outside Belfast.

"It's A Matter Of Principle, "She Said In Between Sips Of Latte Inside A Hotel Overlooking A Windswept North Antrim Coast On Friday.

"At My First Hearing In Larne Last Month The Court Referred To Me As 'Mr Martin' Or 'he' , because On My Birth Certificate I'm Still Douglas Martin. But As You Can See By Looking At Me, I Haven't Been Douglas For Over 20 Years.

"On My British Passport It States That I'm Denise, and That's Who I Have Been For All These Years. But If The Next Court Appearance In Ballymena Treats Me Like A Man, then I'm In Danger Of Going To An All-male Prison. Then I'm In Danger Of Going To An All-male Prison..

What Began As A "cat Fight" Between Denise And A Middle-aged Transvestite In Larne Last April May End Up In The European Court Of Human Rights. If Martin Refuses To Pay The Fine At Her Next Court Appearance On 7 November, she Risks A Custodial Sentence.

"My Solicitor Told Me I Would Have 28 Days To Appeal, and In That Period I Would Go To A Higher Court To See If They Can Change My Status To That Of A Woman. I Don't Believe I Did Anything Wrong, but I Won't Pay And Am Prepared To Go To Jail, as Long As It's A Woman's Jail.

"If They Refuse, I Have Instructed My Solicitor To Fight This All The Way To The European Court Of Human Rights. I Didn't Go Through Years Of Psychiatric Counselling, a Painful Operation And The Entire Trauma Through My Life To Let The Courts Deny Who I Am Today. 　

"I Won't Pay And I Won't Rest Until They Recognise Me As Denise. "I Won't Pay And I Won't Rest Until They Recognise Me As Denise..

The Transsexual Who Says She Is A Normal Heterosexual Woman Has Other Reasons To Challenge The Court's Definition Of Her Sexuality.

"My Partner, who Prefers To Maintain His Privacy, and I Want To Get Married Next Year. I'm Fighting This Case Partly For Him As Well. The Law, or At Least The Courts, still Sees Me As A Man And I Don't Want My Partner Being Branded As Someone Who Has Married A Man. He Met Me As A Fully Functioning Woman, not As Douglas But As Denise. This Fight Is As Important For Him As It Is For Me. This Fight Is As Important For Him As It Is For Me..

After The Court Cases And The Marriage, the Couple Are Planning To Move To London. Asked How Her Family Felt About Her Going Public, martin Said: "Obviously Back In The Early Days There Was A Lot Of Hurt And Confusion. But They Have Finally Accepted Me As Denise, and They Know Because I Am A Very Cocksure Person That I Speak My Mind And Don't Let People Walk All Over Me. And They Know Because I Am A Very Cocksure Person That I Speak My Mind And Don't Let People Walk All Over Me..
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