The US Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) withdrew policies and regulations introduced by the Trump administration that targeted transgender inmates in the prison system earlier this month. Former President Donald Trump’s 2018 demand that transgender convicts housed based on “biological sex” repealed in the amended guidelines, reversing safeguards placed in place under Trump’s predecessor, President Barack Obama.
When transgender and intersex offenders are assigned housing units and services, they will asked about their own opinions and pronouns, as well as their safety. Where private cubicles are not available, they will also give the option of showering separately.
The Transgender Offender Manual also includes information on how convicts can get aid and interventions, including as hormones and psychological counseling, as well as gender-affirming surgery for those who want it. In a statement, Richard Saenz, Lambda Legal Senior Attorney and Criminal Justice and Police Misconduct Strategist, said, “The federal BOP has issued important new guidelines that will hopefully help keep transgender people in its custody safe and provide access to life-saving healthcare, including gender-affirming surgery.”
“This reinforces the constitutional rights of detained transgender persons, and it should serve as a model for state prisons and municipal jails in carrying out their responsibilities to keep people in their custody safe.” Staff from the Bureau of Prisons will receive annual training on how to deal with transgender detainees professionally and sensitively, including how to avoid misgendering people and other related issues. Tran’s persons are at a heightened risk of suicide, mental health concerns, and discrimination both within and outside the prison system; therefore, training is very crucial to provide the right care.
According to a 2018 study, transgender people in prison in the United States are 10 times more likely to be sexually abuse than the overall prison population. Another study indicated that LGBTQ+ persons, particularly LGBTQ+ people of color and economically disadvantaged LGBTQ+ people, are overrepresented in US prisons and are more vulnerable to violence and mistreatment there. With 639 prisoners per 100,000 inhabitants, the United States has the highest prison and jail population (2,120,000 in adult facilities) and the highest incarceration rate in the world.
Whether it is the disproportionate number of detained people from ethnic and racial minorities or the significant percentage of inmates incarcerated in for-profit private prisons, the US prison system has been the subject of criticism and scandal in recent years. According to a report from UCLA Law’s Williams Institute, there are an estimated 1.4 million-transgender persons in the United States; however, the US only barred employers from discriminating against LGBTQ+ people based on gender identity or sexual orientation in 2020. Institutional transphobia and a lack of support are still major problems in the United States.
