Trans Inmates Being Moved to Prisons of Assigned Sex

As per planned Trump administration policies, trans prisoners in the United States are being transferred to prisons that correspond to their sex assigned at birth, rather than their gender identity. Additionally, the Bureau of Prisons plans to stop implementing gender-affirming practices such as using inmates’ preferred pronouns and letting trans women buy women’s underwear.

On February 21, it was reported by NPR that the relocation of trans prisoners was imminent, and would encompass all trans people incarcerated, regardless of any gender-affirming surgeries or healthcare. As of right now, trans women located in men’s prisons are being allowed gender-affirming practices such as having their preferred pronouns used, being allowed to buy women’s underwear, and only being searched by female guards—However, according to the Bureau of Prisons, these protections are soon to be ceased completely. The Bureau previously used individual discretion to decide where trans people would be incarcerated, as well as what protections they would have.

Of the roughly 150,000 people incarcerated in the United States, 1,600 are trans women, and 700 are trans men. Of the trans women incarcerated, 22 of them are currently incarcerated in women’s prisons. Trans inmates are especially susceptible to various forms of assault by their fellow prisoners, as well as by staff within the prison. A study completed in 2017 found that trans inmates had been sexually assaulted in horrifyingly disproportionate numbers (three percent of cis inmates to 37% of trans inmates) to their cisgender counterparts. Trans prisoners have also reported being pressured and even forced into sex work by other inmates.

This is not the first time that trans inmates have been attacked by the government—Early last September, a group of prisoners won a class action lawsuit against a bill in Idaho that prohibited gender-affirming care for inmates. However, on a national scale, this is set to be extraordinarily detrimental to trans prisoners’ mental health regardless of their relocation status, and will almost assuredly have a dangerous impact on the way they’re treated by fellow inmates as well as prison staff.