How I’ve Seen Transgender Inmates Treated in Prison Isn’t Right
My experience isn’t a monolith but it also doesn’t surprise me.
Like most experiences in prison, I can only speak about what I’ve personally seen, not how things are across the board. So please, take what I say with a grain of salt. With that said, considering the way I know things are going on the outside when it comes to transgender rights, none of what I’ve seen on the inside when it comes to the treatment of transgender inmates, sadly, surprises me one bit.
Since I’ve been at this camp, there have been, to my knowledge two transgender inmates in my block. I say to my knowledge, simply because they’re the only two who have been open about being transgender — I wouldn’t blame anyone for keeping it to themselves in this toxic environment.
In NC, jails may not follow Prison Rape Elimination Act (PREA) guidelines. PREA does apply to local confinement facilities but is not enforceable against them unless a facility is pursuing national accreditation through an organization that receives federal funds or is housing federal inmates.
PREA requires that all inmates be assessed during intake or upon transfer to another facility for their risk of being sexually abused by other inmates or being sexually abusive toward other…
