A move to bar trans women from a territory's female prisons has been slammed amid a debate over the safety risk to inmates.

Northern Territory Chief Minister Lia Finocchiaro has declared female prisons should house women only, saying "if you're born a bloke, you're going to a men's prison".

The territory is the first Australian jurisdiction to enact such a policy.

Ms Finocchiaro said her Country Liberal Party government was taking a common sense approach after receiving correspondence from conservative think tank the Women's Forum Australia.

The forum wrote to the prime minister and every state and territory leader protesting that male offenders were permitted to enter women's prisons "under the guise of gender identity".

Forum CEO Rachael Wong urged a ban on the practice, saying it p

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