DCTC’s Comments on Proposed Prisoner Rape Standards

DCTC has submitted public comments to the US Department of Justice regarding the Standards for the Prevention, Detection, Response and Monitoring of Sexual Abuse in Detention currently under review by the US Attorney General. (Click to read all of our testimony.) As grassroots organizers, we wanted to share the experiences and perspectives of our local communities, and to ensure that the unique needs of trans prisoners are not left out. As we state in our testimony, the present system for preventing sexual abuse in detention is broken, and trans individuals often feel the brunt of this. For the trans community and for many others, it is urgent that we adopt these standards without delay as an important step toward addressing the massive human rights violations that go on every day across this country. Here is an excerpt from our comments:

In the 1994 Farmer v. Brennan US Supreme Court case, a trans woman incarcerated in a male prison complained that the prison administration had shown “deliberate indifference” to the repeated sexual abuse she faced.  The Supreme Court declared that the prison has a duty under the Eighth Amendment to provide humane conditions of confinement, including the obligation to ensure that inmates receive adequate food, clothing, shelter, and medical care, and are protected from violence at the hands of other prisoners. Placing an individual who presents herself and lives her life as female in a male unit is practically ensuring that she will be raped. To fully eliminate sexual abuse in detention, correctional systems must also acknowledge that trans individuals are at a heightened risk and that protecting them from abuse will require flexible housing policies that prioritize their safety. The obligation to prevent sexual abuse requires correctional systems to end the practice of making housing placement decisions based solely on genitalia, or excessively relying on protective custody and administrative segregation.

The standards under review are an extremely important step toward fixing this problem. No matter how big or how small, all corrections facilities must institute basic policies and practices to keep inmates safe. The final standards should include a broad definition of prisoner rape, acknowledging vulnerable prison populations including trans individuals.  Whatever form sexual abuse takes, it is always wrong; unchecked harassment frequently leads to more serious abuse. Morally, we must end rape without delay.

Below the cut, read more about the Standards, the Prison Rape Elimination Act, and how to submit your own comments to DOJ, in a press release from Just Detention, International.

DC Trans Coalition Endorses 2010 March for America

For Immediate Release
March 18, 2010
Contact: Rhodes Perry
(202) 403-7000 / Rhodes.perry@gmail.com

DC Trans Coalition Endorses 2010 March for America
“March Provides Opportunity To Raise Visibility for Trans Immigrants, Refugees and asylum seekers,” Group Says

Washington, DC – The DC Trans Coalition (DCTC) will participate in Sunday’s 2010 March for America, which provides an opportunity for the group to raise visibility around two interconnected and complex issues – transgender, transsexual and gender non-conforming human rights and immigrant rights.  The intersection of these issues continues to be largely ignored and neglected, despite the profound degree of discrimination, humiliation and outright violence trans immigrants endure, all of which jeopardize the most essential rights to life, dignity, and health.

“Tragically, too many transgender immigrants lack culturally competent and understanding legal counsel, or receive inaccurate legal information from attorneys who are not well-versed in this area of the law,” said Alison Gill, a DCTC attorney.  “As a result, trans immigrants fail to obtain immigration documents that correctly reflect their gender identity, file timely or comprehensive applications for asylum, or secure legal immigrant status through marriage to a US Citizen or resident.”

Trans immigrants face additional barriers to the already difficult and demanding legal immigration process. For example, the lack of explicit inclusion of “gender identity” as a protected class for asylum-seekers complicates asylum applications for those attempting to flee persecution. Additionally, many countries continue to require nullification of marriages before recognizing a trans person’s identity, making it more difficult for transgender immigrants to reunite with their families.

Failing to access sound legal advice – and knowing one’s rights in general – leads to increased marginalization of trans immigrants within the U.S., exposing far too many people to exploitation by employers, increased risk of discrimination, humiliation and abuse, negative health consequences of living in the U.S. without legal status, and detention in federal facilities pending removal hearings. Further, many transgender immigrants have experienced rape, sexual assault, harassment and other forms of violence – including the denial of life-saving HIV medications – while incarcerated in immigrant detention center.

“Clearly, more immigration attorneys need to understand the very unique and complex issues trans immigrants experience in particular, and sensitive attorneys unfamiliar with immigration law should recognize that there are good laws on the books addressing treatment of trans immigrants that are unfortunately not enforced and often misapplied,” said Gill.

According to guidelines from the United States Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS), trans immigrants should be able to access accurate identity documents – i.e. work authorization, naturalization certificates, green cards, etc – in the “outward, claimed and otherwise documented [gender identity] of the applicant.”  Clarification as to what “otherwise documented” is necessary as officials from USCIS enforce this rule inconsistently, typically requiring trans-related surgical procedures prior to obtaining accurate identity documents.  In some extreme circumstances, officials will refuse to correct gender markers on identity documents for individuals who have undergone such procedures for no justifiable reason.

“We believe that no human being is illegal, and that no one should be denied accurate documentation, whether because they are transgender or due to their citizenship status,” said Sadie Ryanne Baker, a DCTC advocate.  “Without such documentation, trans immigrants will continue to be treated inhumanly, and made vulnerable to extreme discrimination, humiliation, underemployment and violence.  We plan to march on Sunday to help raise visibility around these complex issues, in hopes of building stronger coalitions with immigration advocates and ensuring that the good laws on the books are enforced appropriately,” said Baker.

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The DC Trans Coalition (DCTC) is a volunteer, grassroots community-based organization dedicated to fighting for human rights, dignity, and equal access for transsexual, transgender and gender-diverse people in the District of Columbia.

Phone-banking for ENDA

Our allies at the National Center for Lesbian Rights (NCLR) and the Task Force have asked us to promote their phonebanking to support passage of ENDA, the federal Employment Non-Discrimination Act. This important legislation will help trans people across the country, please support them if you can! Here is more info from NCLR:

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In most of the U.S., you can get fired from your job simply for being Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual or Transgender. The Employment Non-Discrimination Act will change this. But we need your help. This bill is within weeks of a vote in the House of Representatives, and it is crucial that we act now.

The National Gay and Lesbian Task Force and the National Center for Lesbian Rights co-host phone banks on Tuesday and Wednesday nights to mobilize supporters in key Congressional districts. These phone calls are vital to convince undecided legislators to pass ENDA now!

Join us for equality! FREE pizza, training, and scripts are provided!
What: Friendly phone calls to LGBT supporters nationwide
When: Tuesdays and Wednesdays, 6-9
Upcoming phone banks: Tues 3/9, Wed 3/10, Tues 3/16, Wed 3/17
Where: 1325 Massachusetts Ave, 6th Fl / Washington, DC
Nearest Metros: McPherson Sq. (orange/blue), Mt. Vernon Sq/7th St Convention Center (yellow/green)
Why: To move ENDA through Congress to a vote!
How: We’ll provide scripts, training and dinner

Questions? Visit http://bit.ly/cd6ZGX or contact Aaditi Dubale at adubale@thetaskforce.org!

Prison Rape Elimination Commission Releases Proposed Standards

Last week, a few members of DCTC attended the Prison Rape Elimination Commission’s press conference as they released their report and proposed standards “to prevent and respond to sexual abuse in U.S. confinement and detention facilities”, including prisons, jails, youth lockups and immigrant facilities.  The standards have been delivered to President Obama and his Attorney General, who now have one year to approve them.

There is a lot in the report that is relevant to people organizing for justice in the lives of trans and gender nonconforming people. Rather than writing our own analysis of the recommendations, you can read the summary put together by the National Center for Transgender Equality (also below the cut).

We’d like to add, however, that many of the recommendations to reduce sexual assault and increase safety are  measures that we fought long and hard for here at the DC Department of Corrections, many of which we won. The release of the PREC report is a good opportunity to reinforce why it is important to continue the work to make sure that standards like this are actually enforced.