Women’s Rights Group Asks Newsom To Stop Transgender Mixing Of Prisoners

A California law allowing transgender inmates to choose the gender they are imprisoned as has received backlash from a women’s rights group which has pointed out that it allows biological male criminals to “prey on women.”

In a letter to Democrat California Governor Gavin Newsom, the Women’s Liberation Front (WoLF) wrote, “The State of California is violating the civil rights of incarcerated women and subjecting them to serious physical, psychological, and emotional harm.”

The letter adds, “SB 132, which went into effect on Jan 1, 2021, has already resulted in dozens of male inmates being transferred to women’s correctional facilities at CCWF and CIW, with hundreds more on the way. On behalf of these incarcerated women, WoLF demands that the State of California and the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation take immediate action to protect the women in its custody.”

“Under the law as written, there is no method to screen out males who genuinely self-identify as transgender from those who are using the system to prey on women,” the letter continues. “Even if sincere self-identification was the criterion for transfer, however, it would not mitigate or remove the danger posed to women. A 2009 report found 20% of trans-identified men in California are sex offenders, and 50% have committed crimes against persons. Based on the known criminal histories of the men who have been transferred thus far, this study appears to understate the problem. We’re informed that at least one of the trans-identified male prisoners is on death row, and a considerable number of the others are serving life sentences for brutal crimes.”

WoLF Legal Director Lauren Adams said, “We are working with a woman who was punched in the face so hard by a new transfer that she couldn’t chew for three days. He was taken away and released back in a different yard with no restrictions. He was her cellmate. She had to sleep with him.”

According to WoLF, “Those running the prison system know how dangerous conditions have become for the women in California state custody. Many of the correctional officers have openly acknowledged that they expect the women will be raped and assaulted, there will likely be pregnancies, and, in general, the environment will be ripe for exploitation of the women and challenging to control. Some COs have privately expressed concern and have reportedly urged leaders to take immediate action to right this wrong. Conversely, at least one CO has used this situation to torment the women in his care, threatening to put men in their cells to rape them. The LA Times even reported that prison officials are already aware that men are pretending to identify as transgender so that they can access women’s facilities.”

California currently has 273 transfer requests, 266 are men at male institutions requesting transfer to female institutions, and only 7 are women at female institutions requesting to be transferred to male institutions.

A spokesperson for the California Department of Corrections told the Washington Examiner the transfer process includes “a thorough review of the incarcerated person’s history prior to and during incarceration, their crime, arrest and criminal history, trial and sentencing documentation, medical and mental health needs.”
According to Adams, however, many of the male transfers have been convicted of forcible rape. In their letter, WoLF states, “We demand the following:  Immediately halt transfers of male inmates to women’s facilities, and remove all-male inmates who have been transferred thus far; Halt the processing of applications for transfers pending a safety assessment and proper notice and comment period, and Barring that, segregate male inmates together and allow women to refuse sharing housing with male inmates.”