Arguments Against Transgender Inmates

Transgender Inmates: The Dilemma

Transgender people are victims of societal views of them. This deep-rooted negative view of transgender people, transphobia, has impacted inmates and has contributed to their victimization in prison by inmates and prison staffs. For instance, transgender inmates do not have a liberty interest to determine their own gender regardless of whether or not medical procedures are carried out. Determination by medical procedure is an example of how the criminal justice system is psycho medical, however treating a transgender inmate solely by their physical appearance may make the inmate more susceptible to victimization. Since the amount of transgender people and subsequently transgender inmates is rising criminal

It is imperative gender determination occurs as soon as the inmate is taken into custody. Brotheim suggest following these protocol can decrease further victimization. Brotheim uses the courts Farmer V Brennan determination to discuss the current standard of the law for gender determination. Brotheim says, “Transgender people who have not had genital surgery are usually classified according to their birth sex for purposes of corrections housing regardless of how long they may have lived as members of the "other gender" and regardless of how much other medical treatment they may have undergone. (2013, 42) However the issue with such psycho-medical approach is more often than not these transgender inmates do not identify with their birth sex. While it is not unconstitutional to ignore the gender these transgender inmates identify with, there are guidelines for prisons that may want to be more sensitive to these inmates’ special needs. These guidelines suggest what an administrator should do if the inmate does not identify with their birth sex in order to reduce victimization. These suggestion