NCTE Launches New Resources for Advocates and Prison Officials To Protect Transgender Prisoners

The National Center for Transgender Equality is launching a suite of new publications for advocates and corrections officials to update and implement policies impacting transgender people in prisons and jails.

Transgender people face routine abuse and violence in America’s prison system, enduring sexual and physical violence at alarmingly high rates. According to the US Transgender Survey, transgender people are ten times as likely to be abused by fellow inmates while incarcerated (as compared to the general prison population) and five times as likely to be abused by prison staff. Just this spring, the Trump Administration issued instructions encouraging prison officials to ignore federal law and the safety of transgender people in their custody.

Designed for use by prison officials and advocates fighting for the safety of all prisoners, the publications released today include a comprehensive policy guide with real world examples of prison policies that protect the rights of transgender people. The other publications include an introduction to the barriers faced in prison by LGBTQ people, a guide for advocates on working with prison and jail agencies, and a larger perspective on the place of LGBTQ people within mass incarceration. Each includes basic instructions and user-friendly tips for working with prison officials to improve conditions in prisons and jails.

Mara Keisling, executive director of the the National Center for Transgender Equality, offered the following statement:

“Abuse in our nation’s prison system is an ongoing crisis impacting every community and millions of families--and transgender people bear some of the greatest risks. We designed these documents as a tool of empowerment for advocates across the country who are pushing for the most basic rights of their loved ones and community members to be respected--as well as for prison officials who want to do the right thing and fix a broken system from within. Lasting change in our nation’s prisons cannot ignore the voices of the communities pushing against abuse, and we’ve designed these tools to make that change as accessible as possible.”