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- Jul 8, 2017
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To use an example of an essay I did, I looked at which prisons trans prisoners should be in taking into account their need for safety and their risk to other prisoners.
Universally, trans woman in men's prisons required a security escort at all times due to immediate danger of physical or sexual assaults. Trans women who were released from male prisons frequently committed suicide citing the trauma as a reason, and one reported being raped over 2000 times during her incarceration.
So the risk of harm to them in men's prison is evidently astronomically high. However, they found that unless the trans woman relocated to a woman's prison was initially sentenced for violent crimes against women, they posed no significant risk of harm to the rest of the general population. It's been suggested that the trans women who are at risk of harming other women just be sectioned with cis women who are also at risk of harming other women in more secure units rather than leaving them in men's prisons. If violent cis woman can be effectively contained away from the general population, you can house a trans woman without any real issues.
However a problem arises when trans men are considered. Men's prison, considering most trans men in Australia where I based my study never have phalloplasty due to cost but will go on hormones and have top surgery, are deemed at such high risk despite it being the obivously 'gender affirming' thing to do from being placed with cis men for threat of constant rape, that it isn't deemed a viable option. A trans man sentenced for arson was actually put on home detention because the judge found that male prison posed a life threatening risk to trans men's safety, but it would be contrary to current policy to place him in the woman's as an alternative. For this reason the only option was home detention for a crime not usually granted that.
And no, people do not transition in prison to have a nicer time of it or get out of jail. If you transition and you don't have gender dysphoria you're literally going to want to neck yourself, it is so unbearably shit. I wouldn't wish it on anyone, even someone I wanted to understand my life but refused to. Plus they usually don't get moved anyway without an advocate being involved so they probably get raped 1000 times before being rehoused if they even do.
Sooooo yeah. Unlikely.
Maybe like one person in a million would think it would be worth it, but they'd be pretty dumb. Transitioning in prison is basically wearing a giant sign that says 'everyone please rape me, all day long'
So here the thing is, the issue of who is raping who in prisons is that it always comes back to the cis men. They're raping the trans women, the cis women (if they get a chance with a guard) and the trans men.
And if they can't get one of those people, or a little twink?
They'll rape whoever they can pin down.
It is not a fun place.
