Lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people in prisons often both face additional challenges as inmates and pose additional challenges for prison officials.
According to Just Detention International, 67% of all LGBT people report being assaulted while in prison, and LGBT inmates are "among the most vulnerable in the prison population." The vulnerability of incarcerated LGBT individuals has led some facilities to provide protective accommodation for such people, while in other facilities they are housed with the general population.
While much of the available data on LGBT inmates comes from the
United StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
,
Amnesty InternationalAmnesty International is an international secular non-governmental organisation which defines its mission as "to conduct research and generate action to prevent and end grave abuses of human rights and to demand justice for those whose rights have been violated." Founded in London in 1961, AI...
maintains records of known incidents internationally in which LGBT prisoners and those perceived to be lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender have suffered torture, ill-treatment and violence at the hands of fellow inmates as well as prison officials.
Many LGBT inmates who are able, even those who are openly gay outside of prison,
carefully hideThe Closet may refer to:* The Closet , Chinese film* The Closet , French film* The closet, a reference to homosexuality...
their
sexual identitiesSexual identity is a term that, like sex, has two distinctively different meanings. One describes an identity roughly based on sexual orientation, the other an identity based on sexual characteristics, which is not socially based but based on biology, a concept related to, but different from,...
while imprisoned, because inmates who are known or perceived as gay, especially males with stereotypically
feminineFemininity refers to qualities and behaviors judged by a particular culture to be ideally associated with or especially appropriate to women and girls....
characteristics, face "a very high risk of sexual abuse."
A
conjugal visitA conjugal visit is a scheduled extended visit during which an inmate of a prison is permitted to spend several hours or days in private, usually with a legal spouse...
is a scheduled extended visit during which an inmate of a prison is permitted to spend several hours or days in private with visitors, usually family members, in special rooms, trailers or even decorated, apartment-like settings on prison grounds.
Lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people in prisons often both face additional challenges as inmates and pose additional challenges for prison officials.
According to Just Detention International, 67% of all LGBT people report being assaulted while in prison, and LGBT inmates are "among the most vulnerable in the prison population." The vulnerability of incarcerated LGBT individuals has led some facilities to provide protective accommodation for such people, while in other facilities they are housed with the general population.
While much of the available data on LGBT inmates comes from the
United StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
,
Amnesty InternationalAmnesty International is an international secular non-governmental organisation which defines its mission as "to conduct research and generate action to prevent and end grave abuses of human rights and to demand justice for those whose rights have been violated." Founded in London in 1961, AI...
maintains records of known incidents internationally in which LGBT prisoners and those perceived to be lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender have suffered torture, ill-treatment and violence at the hands of fellow inmates as well as prison officials.
Coming out
Many LGBT inmates who are able, even those who are openly gay outside of prison,
carefully hideThe Closet may refer to:* The Closet , Chinese film* The Closet , French film* The closet, a reference to homosexuality...
their
sexual identitiesSexual identity is a term that, like sex, has two distinctively different meanings. One describes an identity roughly based on sexual orientation, the other an identity based on sexual characteristics, which is not socially based but based on biology, a concept related to, but different from,...
while imprisoned, because inmates who are known or perceived as gay, especially males with stereotypically
feminineFemininity refers to qualities and behaviors judged by a particular culture to be ideally associated with or especially appropriate to women and girls....
characteristics, face "a very high risk of sexual abuse."
Conjugal visits
A
conjugal visitA conjugal visit is a scheduled extended visit during which an inmate of a prison is permitted to spend several hours or days in private, usually with a legal spouse...
is a scheduled extended visit during which an inmate of a prison is permitted to spend several hours or days in private with visitors, usually family members, in special rooms, trailers or even decorated, apartment-like settings on prison grounds. While the parties may engage in sexual intercourse, in practice an inmate may have several visitors, including children, as the generally recognized basis for permitting such a visit is to preserve family bonds and increase the chances of success for a prisoner's eventual return to life outside prison.
Conjugal visits are customary in most countries. In jurisdictions where there is some form of recognition of same-sex relationships, prisoners may be permitted conjugal visits with a same-sex partner.
[As of December, 2008, homosexual behaviour remains illegal in over 80 countries (see Homosexuality laws of the world]Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender related laws vary greatly by country or territory – everything from legal recognition of same-sex marriage or other types of partnerships, to the death penalty as punishment for same-sex sexual activity....
). Only countries that allow same-sex conjugal visits, or where same-sex conjugal visitation rights have been addressed in law are included on this list, in addition to a sub-list of countries that do not allow conjugal visitation for any inmates at all.
Same-sex conjugal visitation by country
ArgentinaArgentina, officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America, constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires. It is the eighth largest country in the world by land area and the largest among Spanish-speaking nations, though Mexico,...
- Opposite-sex conjugal visits have long been permitted, but a case in the central province of Córdoba
Córdoba is a city located near the geographical center of Argentina, in the foothills of the Sierras Chicas on the Suquía River, about northwest of Buenos Aires. It is the capital of Córdoba Province....
has authorized same-sex conjugal visits as well. The ruling came after an inmate was twice punished with solitary confinement for having sex with his visiting partner in his cell. The inmate brought a lawsuit on the basis of a law that obliges authorities to "guarantee (the availability of) intimate relations for prisoners with their spouses or, alternatively, with their (partners)."
AustraliaAustralia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the continental mainland , the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans...
- In Australia, conjugal visits are only permitted in the Australian Capital Territory and Victoria. This includes visits by partners of the same-sex, provided they are not also incarcerated. http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,25197,25604033-12377,00.html Conjugal visits of any type are not allowed in New South Wales, Queensland, South Australia, Tasmania, Western Australia and the Northern Territory.
BelgiumThe Kingdom of Belgium is a country in northwest Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts its headquarters, as well as those of other major international organizations, including NATO...
- Same-sex conjugal visits, for a maximum of two hours per month, are permitted for both men and women.
BrazilBrazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is a country in South America. It is the fifth largest country by geographical area, occupying nearly half of South America, the fifth most populous country, and the fourth most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Atlantic Ocean...
- Same-sex conjugal visits may be permitted for male inmates. Female inmates' conjugal visits are much more tightly regulated; it is unclear whether women inmates are permitted conjugal visits with same-sex partners.
CanadaCanada is a country occupying most of northern North America, extending from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
- All inmates, with the exception of those on disciplinary restrictions or at risk for family violence, are permitted "Private Family Visits" of up to 72 hours' duration once every two months. Eligible visitors, who may not themselves be prison inmates, are: spouse, or common-law partner of at least six months; children; parents; foster parents; siblings; grandparent
Grandparents are the father or mother of a person's own father or mother. Everyone has a maximum of four genetic grandparents, eight genetic great-grandparents, sixteen genetic great-great-grandparents, etc...
s; and "persons with whom, in the opinion of the institutional head, the inmate has a close familial bond." Food is provided by the institution but paid by the inmates and visitors, who are also responsible for cleaning the unit after the visit. During a visit, staff members have regular contact with the inmate and visitors.
CaribbeanThe Caribbean is a region consisting of the Caribbean Sea, its islands , and the surrounding coasts...
region
- Conjugal visits are not permitted in the Caribbean. Marcus Day, adviser to the Association of Caribbean Heads of Corrections and Prison Services has urged the implementation of opposite-sex conjugal visitation for male inmates and the provision of condoms within prisons in an effort to stop the spread of HIV. Day attributes the spread of HIV/AIDS in prisons to "homosexual relationships among otherwise heterosexual men and homosexual rape," situations he said are rife in Caribbean prisons:"Allow men to have the women come and visit them in prison and have a private room where they can make love to each other and the desire to have same-sex relationships will be greatly reduced," claimed Day.
ColombiaColombia , officially the Republic of Colombia , is a constitutional republic in northwestern South America. Colombia is bordered to the east by Venezuela and Brazil; to the south by Ecuador and Peru; to the north by the Caribbean Sea; to the northwest by Panama; and to the west by the Pacific Ocean...
- On October 11, 2001, the Colombian Supreme Court issued a verdict in favour of the right to same-sex conjugal visits in a case brought by Alba Nelly Montoya, a lesbian in the Risaralda Women's Prison. This was not the first case regarding same-sex conjugal visitation in the country. Marta Alvarez, another lesbian inmate, had been campaigning since 1994 for the same right, and on October 1, 1999 her case became the first ever sexual orientation-related case presented before the Interamerican Commission of Human Rights. In her petition, Alvarez had argued that her rights to personal dignity, integrity, and equality were being infringed upon by the denial to allow her conjugal visits in prison, since the Colombian National Institute for Penitentiaries and Prisons (INPEC) granted conjugal visitation rights in a discriminatory fashion to heterosexual men and women (the latter restricted to visits from husbands only), and denied this right to same-sex couples.
- While the Colombian government admitted its failure to grant conjugal visitation to Alvarez constituted "inhuman and discriminatory" treatment, it continued to deny such visits, arguing reasons of security, discipline, and morality. Alvarez was also subjected to retaliatory disciplinary measures, including being transferred to a men's prison, which ceased following a domestic and international protest campaign.
Costa RicaCosta Rica, officially the Republic of Costa Rica is a country in Central America, bordered by Nicaragua to the north, Panama to the east and south, the Pacific Ocean to the west and south and the Caribbean Sea to the east.Costa Rica, which translates literally as "Rich Coast", constitutionally...
- In August of 2008, the Costa Rican Constitutional Tribunal rejected a man's appeal in a lawsuit against prison authorities who stopped his conjugal visits to his male partner, a current inmate, ruling that gay inmates do not have the right to conjugal visits. The court is still debating an appeal in a different case that challenges prison rules restricting conjugal visits to heterosexual couples as violating the basic right to sexual freedom of all inmates.
MexicoThe United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
- In July 2007, the Mexico City
Mexico City is the capital city of Mexico. It is the economic, industrial, and cultural center in the country, and the most populous city, with about 8,836,045 inhabitants in 2008...
prison system began allowing same-sex conjugal visits on the basis of a 2003 law which bans discrimination based on sexual orientation.
United States
- In June 2007, the California Department of Corrections became the only US state to permit same-sex conjugal visits when it enacted a same-sex conjugal visit policy to comply with a 2005 state law requiring state agencies to give the same rights to domestic partners that heterosexual couples receive. The new rules allow for visits only by registered domestic partners who are not themselves incarcerated. Further, the domestic partnership must have been established before the prisoner was incarcerated.
The following countries do not permit conjugal visitation for any inmate:
- United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is a sovereign state located off the northwestern coast of continental Europe. It is an island country, spanning an archipelago including Great Britain, the northeastern part of Ireland, and many small islands...
(EnglandEngland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the North Sea to the east, with the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
, Northern IrelandNorthern Ireland is a part of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and it is situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland. It shares a border with the Republic of Ireland to the south and west...
and ScotlandScotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
), IrelandIreland is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island in the world. It lies to the north-west of continental Europe and is surrounded by hundreds of islands and islets. To the east of Ireland, separated by the Irish Sea, is the island of Great Britain...
and IsraelIsrael officially the State of Israel , is a developed state in Western Asia located on the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea. It borders Lebanon in the north, Syria in the northeast, Jordan in the east, and Egypt on the southwest, and contains geographically diverse features within its...
.
Health care
According to Masen Davis, Executive Director of the
Transgender Law CenterThe Transgender Law Center is a San Francisco-based civil rights organization advocating for transgender communities. They are California's first "fully staffed, state-wide transgender legal organization" and were initially a fiscally sponsored project of the National Center for Lesbian Rights...
, LGBT people in prisons often face barriers in seeking basic and necessary
medical treatmentLGBT topics in medicine are those that relate to lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people's health issues and access to health services. According to the US Gay and Lesbian Medical Association , besides HIV/AIDS, issues related to LGBT health include breast and cervical cancer, hepatitis,...
, exacerbated by the fact that prison health care staff are often not aware of or trained on how to address
those needsLGBT topics in medicine are those that relate to lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people's health issues and access to health services. According to the US Gay and Lesbian Medical Association , besides HIV/AIDS, issues related to LGBT health include breast and cervical cancer, hepatitis,...
. For example, two transgender prisoners filed suit in January 2008 challenging a
WisconsinWisconsin is one of the fifty U.S. states. Located in the north-central United States, Wisconsin is considered part of the Midwest. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michigan to the northeast, and Lake Superior to the...
law that bars inmates from receiving hormones or
sex reassignment surgerySex reassignment surgery is a term for the surgical procedures by which a person's physical appearance and function of their existing sexual characteristics are altered to resemble that of the other sex...
.
Rates of
HIVHuman immunodeficiency virus is a lentivirus that causes acquired immunodeficiency syndrome , a condition in humans in which the immune system begins to fail, leading to life-threatening opportunistic infections. Infection with HIV occurs by the transfer of blood, semen, vaginal fluid,...
infection are nearly five times higher among incarcerated men in the United States than in the general population, according to a 2002 study by the National Commission on Correctional Health Care, and
AIDSAcquired immune deficiency syndrome or acquired immunodeficiency syndrome is a disease of the human immune system caused by the human immunodeficiency virus ....
is the second most frequent cause of death in US prisons.
RapePrison rape commonly refers to the rape of inmates in prison by other inmates or prison staff.According to Human Rights Watch, at least 140,000 inmates are raped each year, and there is a significant variation in the rates of prison rape by race. Stop Prisoner Rape, Inc. statistics indicate that...
is a frequent cause of HIV transmission among prisoners, but in most US prisons, inmates are not permitted access to condoms.
LGBT youth prisoners
According to some studies, LGBT youth are particularly at risk for
arrestAn arrest is the act of depriving a person of his or her liberty usually in relation to the investigation and prevention of crime. The term is Anglo-Norman in origin and is related to the French word arrêt, meaning "stop".-United States:...
and
detentionDetention of suspects is the process of keeping a person who has been arrested in a police-cell, prison or other detention centre before trial or sentencing.-Detention before charge:...
. Jody Marksamer, Shannan Wilber, and Katayoon Majd, writing on behalf of the Equity Project, a collaboration between Legal Services for Children, the
National Center for Lesbian RightsThe National Center for Lesbian Rights is a non-profit, public interest law firm that litigates precedent-setting cases at the trial and appellate court levels, advocates for equitable public policies affecting the LGBT community, provides free legal assistance to LGBT clients and their legal...
, and the National Juvenile Defender Center, say that LGBT youth are overrepresented in the populations of youth who are at risk of arrest and of those who are confined in juvenile justice facilities in the United States.
Additionally, many LGBT youth in juvenile justice facilities report being harassed,
assaultAssault is a crime of violence against another person. In some jurisdictions, including Australia and New Zealand, assault refers to an act that causes another to apprehend immediate and personal violence, while in other jurisdictions, such as the United States, assault may refer only to the threat...
ed, raped, beaten and
verbally abusedVerbal abuse is a form of abusive behavior involving the use of language. It is a form of profanity that can occur with or without the use of expletives...
by other residents as well as by facility staff.
Physical and sexual abuse
According to
Amnesty InternationalAmnesty International is an international secular non-governmental organisation which defines its mission as "to conduct research and generate action to prevent and end grave abuses of human rights and to demand justice for those whose rights have been violated." Founded in London in 1961, AI...
, globally, LGBT prisoners and those perceived to be lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender, are at risk of torture, ill-treatment and violence from other inmates as well as prison officials. Amnesty International cites numerous cases internationally where LGBT inmates are known to have been abused or murdered by prison officials or fellow inmates.
Gay and bisexual men are often assumed to be responsible for the preponderance of
sexual assaultSexual assault is an assault of a sexual nature on another person. Although sexual assaults most frequently are by a man on a woman, it may be by a man on a man, woman on a man or woman on a woman. Approximately one in six American women will be a victim of a sexual assault in her lifetime...
s perpetrated in prisons. This has been reflected in various American judicial decisions. For example, in
Cole v. Flick[758 F. 2d 124 (3d Cir. 1985). According to trial documents, four "expert witnesses", all of them prison wardens, testified to the legitimacy of this concern, stating their belief that "a correlation exists between security problems resulting from prison homosexuality and long hair, and that predatory homosexuals are more likely to attack or become involved in a fight over a long-haired inmate than a short-haired one."] the court upheld the right of prisons to limit the length of inmates' hair, claiming that allowing them to wear long hair could lead to an increase in attacks by "predatory homosexuals." In
Roland v. Johnson,
[1991 U.S. App. LEXIS 11468 (6th Cir. 1991)] the court described "
gangA gang is a group of people who, through the organization, formation, and establishment of an assemblage, share a common identity. In current usage it typically denotes a criminal organization or else a criminal affiliation. In early usage, the word gang referred to a group of workmen...
s of homosexual predators." And
Ashann-Ra v. Virginia[112 F. Supp. 2d 559, 563 (W.D. Va. 2000)] contains references to "inmates known to be predatory homosexuals [stalking] other inmates in the showers."
According to a groundbreaking study by
Human Rights WatchHuman Rights Watch is an international non-governmental organization that conducts research and advocacy on human rights. Its headquarters are in New York City and it has offices in Berlin, Brussels, Chicago, Geneva, Johannesburg, London, Los Angeles, Moscow, Paris, San Francisco, Tokyo, Toronto,...
, however, "The myth of the 'homosexual predator' is groundless. Perpetrators of
rapePrison rape commonly refers to the rape of inmates in prison by other inmates or prison staff.According to Human Rights Watch, at least 140,000 inmates are raped each year, and there is a significant variation in the rates of prison rape by race. Stop Prisoner Rape, Inc. statistics indicate that...
typically view themselves as heterosexual and,
outside of the prison environmentPrison sexuality deals with sexual relationships between confined individuals or those between a prisoner and a prison employee . Since prisons are separated by gender, most sexual activity is conducted with a same-sex partner, often in contradiction to a person's normal social sexual orientation...
, prefer to engage in heterosexual activity. Although gay inmates are much more likely than other inmates to be victimized in prison, they are not likely to be perpetrators of sexual abuse."
A related problem is that there is a tendency, among both prison officials and prisoners, to view victimization as proof of homosexuality: "The fact of submitting to rape--even violent, forcible rape--redefines [a prisoner] as 'a punk,
sissySissy is a pejorative for a boy or man to indicate that he fails to behave according to the traditional male gender role. Generally, it implies a lack of the courage and stoicism which are thought important to the male role. It might also imply interests seen as strikingly un-masculine. This...
,
queerQueer has traditionally meant odd or unusual, though modern use often pertains to LGBT people....
.'" Officials sometimes take the view all sex involving a gay prisoner is necessarily
consensualIn criminal law, consent may be used as an excuse and prevent the defendant from incurring liability for what was done. For a more general discussion, see Dennis J...
, meaning that victims known or perceived to be gay may not receive necessary medical treatment, protection, and legal recourse, and perpetrators may go unpunished and remain able to perpetrate abuse on their victims:
According to Andrea Cavanaugh Kern, a spokesperson for Stop Prisoner Rape, the combination of high rates of sexual assault against gay prisoners and high rates of HIV infection in the prison population is "a life-or-death issue for the LGBT community."
While much of the data regards male prisoners, according to Amnesty International, "perceived or actual sexual orientation has been found to be one of four categories that make a female prisoner a more likely target for sexual abuse."
Segregation
For their own safety, LGBT people in are sometimes placed in administrative segregation or
protective custodyProtective custody is a type of imprisonment to protect a prisoner from harm, either from outside sources or other prisoners...
. Although homosexuality is "generally regarded as a factor supporting an inmate's claim to protective custody," however,
homophobiaHomophobia is defined as an "irrational fear of, aversion to, or discrimination against homosexuality or homosexuals", or individuals perceived to be homosexual; it is also defined as "unreasoning fear of or antipathy toward homosexuals and homosexuality", "fear of or contempt for lesbians and gay...
among prison officials and a misperception among many guards that "when a gay inmate has sex with another man it is somehow by definition consensual" mean that access to such custody is not always easy or available.
Another problem is that protective and disciplinary custody are often the same, which means that prisoners in "protective housing" are often held with the most
violent inmatesA prison riot is a type of incident that occurs in the prison environment. It usually refers to a temporary event that is not a routine part of the everyday operation of the prison that involves an act of concerted defiance or disorder by a group of prisoners against the prison administrators,...
in highly restrictive and isolated settings—sometimes in more or less permanent
lockdownThere are several definitions for the term lockdown, the most common of which pertains to a state of containment or a restriction of progression....
or
solitary confinementSolitary confinement is a punishment or special form of imprisonment in which a prisoner is denied contact with any other persons, excluding members of prison staff. Usually cited as an additional measure of protection from the criminal, it has also been called a form of torture...
--that prevent them from participating in
drug treatmentDrug addiction is a pathological condition which arises due to frequent drug use. The disorder of addiction involves the progression of acute drug use to the development of drug-seeking behavior, the vulnerability to relapse, and the decreased, slowed ability to respond to naturally rewarding stimuli...
,
educationPrison education, also known as Correctional Education, involves vocational training or academic education supplied to prisoners as part of their rehabilitation and preparation for life outside prison....
and job-training programs, from having contact with other prisoners or outside visitors, or from enjoying privileges such as the right to watch television, listen to the radio, or even to leave their
cellsThe term prison cell or holding cell refers to the small room where detained prisoner in a prison, or police station lives.Prison cells are generally small, with plastic or brick walls and one door. Many modern prison cells are pre-cast. In the case of British Police stations and Prison Service...
.
In other cases, institutions may have special areas (known by such nicknames as the "gay tank," "
queenIn gay slang, queen is a term used to refer to flamboyant or effeminate gay men. The term can either be pejorative, or celebrated as a type of self-identification.-Drag queen:...
tank," or "softie tank") for housing vulnerable inmates such as LGBT people, elderly or disabled prisoners, or informers. In San Francisco, for example, transgender inmates are automatically segregated from other prisoners. Nevertheless, according to Eileen Hirst, San Francisco Sheriff's Chief of Staff, being gay is not in itself enough to justify a request for protective housing: inmates requesting such housing must demonstrate that they are vulnerable.
For financial or other reasons segregated housing is not always available. At
Rikers IslandRikers Island is New York City's jail facility, as well as the name of the island on which it sits, in the East River between Queens and the mainland Bronx, adjacent to the runways of LaGuardia Airport. The island itself is part of the borough of the Bronx, though it is included as part of Queens...
,
New York CityNew York is the most populous city in the United States, and the center of the New York metropolitan area, which is among the most populous urban areas in the world. A leading global city, New York exerts a powerful influence over worldwide commerce, finance, culture, fashion and entertainment...
's largest jail, the segregated unit for LGBT prisoners, known as "gay housing," was closed in December 2005 citing a need to improve security. The unit had opened in the 1970s due to concerns about abuse of LGBT prisoners in
pretrial detentionDetention of suspects is the process of keeping a person who has been arrested in a police-cell, prison or other detention centre before trial or sentencing.-Detention before charge:...
. The New York City Department of Corrections' widely criticised plan was to restructure the classification of prisoners and create a new protective custody system which would include 23-hour-per-day lockdown (identical to that mandated for disciplinary reasons) or moving vulnerable inmates to other facilities. Whereas formerly all that was required was a declaration of homosexuality or the appearance of being transgender, inmates wanting protective custody would now be required to request it in a special
hearingIn law, a hearing is a proceeding before a court or other decision-making body or officer, such as a government agency.A hearing is generally distinguished from a trial in that it is usually shorter and often less formal...
.
Transgender issues
Transgender prisoners are especially vulnerable in US prisons due to a general policy of housing them according to their birth gender regardless of their current appearance or
gender identityGender identity is the gender, or lack thereof, a person self-identifies as. It is not necessarily based on biological fact, either real or perceived, nor is it always based on sexual orientation...
. Even transgender women with breast implants may be locked up with men, leaving them vulnerable to violence and sexual assualt, as occurred with the case of Dee Farmer, a pre-operative transsexual woman with breast implants who was raped when she was housed in a men's prison. Transgender men housed in women's prisons also face abuse, often more from guards than other inmates.