3 trans women file emergency request not to be transferred to male prisons
WASHINGTON, D.C. - Three transgender women are asking for "emergency relief" to not be transferred to male prisons across the country, saying they will face harm, humiliation and possible sexual assault, which they have suffered in the past.
What we know:
The request was filed Thursday in U.S. District Court in the District of Columbia, on behalf of Jane, Mary and Sara Doe, who are currently in women's prisons at Bureau of Prisons locations that were redacted in the court filing.
They are being represented by two San Francisco law firms, as well as attorneys in Boston and Baltimore. The suit was filed against Acting Attorney General James R. McHenry III and Acting BOP Director William Lothrop.
The BOP did not immediately comment on the suit.
What we don't know:
As of Friday, a judge had not been assigned to the case, so it's unclear how the request will play out.
What they're saying:
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The transgender women have been incarcerated in women's prisons and their lawyers say if they are transferred to a men's prison they will not be safe. They say that the women will be subjected to strip searches and showering in front of men.
For example, Mary Doe had previously been held at a men's facility where she had been "raped multiple times," the court filing states.
The women are also at risk of losing to medical care they need to treat their gender dysphoria, which will "put them at high risk of serious harm" and which is a violation of the 5th and 8th amendments in the Constitution, the suit alleges.
Before President Donald Trump took office, the BOP took an individualized process to determine appropriate housing for transgender women, consistent with the federal Prison Rape Elimination Act, known as PREA.
The other side:
But on Jan. 20, Trump issued an executive order on "gender ideology," where they will lose gender-affirming medical treatments and the U.S. government no longer recognizes transgender people. The directive told the attorney general and Homeland Security secretary "shall ensure males are not detained in women's prisons or housed in women's detention centers" and that no federal money will go to medical care like replacement hormones.
Trump issued several other executive orders against the transgender community as well, including cutting federal support for gender transitions for people younger than 19, ordering federally run insurance programs like Medicare to exclude gender-affirming care, which occurs in some states. Separately, Trump also directed the Pentago to conduct a review that could bar transgender people from military service.
Four days later, the three transgender plaintiffs were placed in separate housing with other transgender women. They were also told that because of Trump's executive order they will be "imminently transferred to men's facilities," the court filing states.
On Jan. 28, Jane and Mary Doe were returned to the general population after the BOP staff learned they contacted lawyers, including the Rosen, Bien, Galvan & Grunfeld and National Center for Lesbian Rights, both in San Francisco. But correctional officers continue to tell the women they will soon be moved to men's prisons.
Sarah Doe's family emailed officials begging for their sympathy.
"She will get sexually assaulted and even possibly killed for being who she is," the family wrote. "She is a citizen designated as a female and deserves protection like any other human."