Experiences of Transgender and Gender Nonconforming Individuals in Jail/Prison

Abstract

Transgender and gender nonconforming individuals face myriad challenges, indignities, and dangers while incarcerated. Researchers have only recently begun to turn an eye toward issues such as the widespread physical and sexual violence experienced by transgender people held in sex-segregated correctional facilities. Some emerging scholarship also highlights common problems – including discrimination from correctional staff and other residents, denial of necessary medical treatment, and limited access to gender-affirming items (such as gender-appropriate underwear and grooming products) – confronting many incarcerated transgender and gender nonconforming individuals. Though this is a growing area of interest, the experiences of transgender and gender nonconforming individuals in the criminal legal system remain critically understudied. This chapter explores the state of scholarship surrounding the incarceration of transgender and other gender nonconforming individuals, highlighting what little is known, and more importantly what remains unknown, about the realities of life as a transgender or gender nonconforming individual in jail or prison. Additionally, this chapter analyzes the various benefits and drawbacks of correctional strategies premised on increasing the safety and improving the lives of incarcerated transgender and gender nonconforming individuals, including specialized LGBTQ+ housing blocks and widespread use of administrative segregation (i.e., solitary confinement). We rely on both case studies as well as a small number of interviews we conducted with transgender residents in both men’s and women’s prisons, including several we interviewed while they were incarcerated in restricted housing (i.e., solitary confinement) units. Finally, this chapter offers policy recommendations for correctional departments seeking to provide safe, fair, and affirming housing/care for transgender and gender nonconforming individuals.