Department of Justice Updates Guidelines Protecting Transgender Prisoners

Last week, the Department of Justice (DOJ) released an important clarification to their 2012 guidelines aimed at protecting transgender prisoners. While DOJ has already stated that an inmate’s gender identity should be considered when placing them in gender-specific facilities, the new clarification explicitly states that automatic placement based on anatomy is a violation of federal law.

Congress passed the Prison Rape Elimination Act (PREA) in 2003 with the explicit goal of ending prison sexual assault and abuse. More than a decade later, DOJ issued rules implementing PREA. The regulations state that decisions about housing should be made on a case-by-case basis taking into account an  inmate’s health and safety. In addition, the rules state that a transgender person’s own views shall be given serious consideration in the decision-making process.  However, despite  these guidelines, inmates have still been overwhelmingly placed in housing based on anatomy regardless of their gender identity.

This has led to high levels of violence against transgender individuals in confinement. According to the DOJ’s Bureau of Justice Statistics’ latest survey of transgender inmates in state and federal prisons, almost 40% were sexually victimized. The rate of sexual assault among non-LGB individuals is much lower.

DOJ’s guidance makes clear that confinement facilities that have a written policy in place, or simply a practice, of housing transgender inmates solely on anatomy violate PREA’s standards. Non-compliance could subject a state to a reduction in federal funding.

While this clarification is an important step, there is more work to do to ensure that placing transgender inmates in facilities based on their gender identity is the norm rather than the exception. HRC will continue to work with Congress and the Executive Branch to ensure the safety of transgender individuals – and all LGBT people – in confinement.  

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Jump Off: Conversations on Faith and Sexuality in Arkansas

Post submitted by  Rev. Dr. Denise Donnell, HRC Arkansas Faith Organizer. 

HRC Arkansas, along with Quapaw Quarter United Methodist Church, Just Communities of Arkansas and Arkansas Association of Black Professionals, have built a coalition to support “The Jump Off.” The Jump Off  is a series of conversations through a social justice lens designed to move us beyond deep conversation to direct action. These conversations mobilize us to continue the fight for full equality and total liberation for every member of our community.

For two weeks during the month of April, the conversation series will focus on Faith and Sexuality. There are two gatherings: April 14, Religion as a Weapon For/Against Sexuality, and April 28, The Effects of Household Codes on Acceptable Sexual Relations. The entire community is invited to join us around the table where every voice is valued and every perspective honored.  We firmly believe that through conversations such as these, progress is made toward full equality and total liberation for all.

Find out more information about this event

www.hrc.org/blog/jump-off-conversations-on-faith-and-sexuality-in-arkansas?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss-feed

Organizations, businesses, advocates, and celebrities denounce North Carolina's anti-LGBT law

www.glaad.org/blog/organizations-businesses-advocates-and-celebrities-denounce-north-carolinas-anti-lgbt-law

HRC Stands with Ambassador Wally Brewster

HRC continues to support former HRC board member and current U.S. Ambassador to the Dominican Republic James “Wally” Brewster. Though vicious verbal attacks of the ambassador and his pro-equality efforts continue, he remains committed to his current appointment. Ambassador Brewster, with support from the Obama Administration, has made it clear that he has no intention of stepping down.

In 2013, Wally Brewster was confirmed as the fifth openly gay ambassador and was sworn-in as U.S. Ambassador to the Dominican Republic. He has since worked to fight corruption and support the rights of all Dominicans.

Ambassador Brewster, and his partner of over 25 years, first came under attack late last year, when Cardinal Nicolás de Jesús López Rodríguez made anti-LGBT comments about the two. Cardinal Lopez claimed that Ambassador Brewster should “stick to housework, since he is a man’s wife.” He went on to call Ambassador Brewster a “faggot” and insisted that “he should go home.”

Following these outrageous remarks, HRC President Chad Griffin called on Pope Francis to condemn the Cardinal’s anti-LGBT slurs. However, the Pope remained silent and the attacks continued. In January, high-ranking members of the Catholic Church, as well as several well-known private citizens, signed a letter calling on the Dominican government to declare the U.S. diplomat “persona non-grata.” Both HRC and the U.S. State Department criticized the letter.

Most recently, Ambassador Brewster was the target of an online petition calling on President Obama to remove Ambassador Brewster from his post. The petition has over 30,000 signatures. Additionally, the College of St. John the Baptist in Santo Domingo posted a banner at the front entrance of the school banning Ambassador Brewster from school grounds.

Despite these continued attacks, the U.S. government continues to support Ambassador Brewster. Seventy-one members of U.S. House of Representatives signed a letter to the Dominican government today expressing support for him and the President’s National Security Advisor Susan Rice reiterated this support in a statement earlier this month.

“[Ambassador Brewster] has the full support of this President, this White House and the entire U.S. government and I know he will continue to advocate tirelessly for the interests of the United States in the Dominican Republic,” she said. “Bigotry in any form is against the universal values that we promote and does not support the social inclusion that we believe is important for a free society to succeed. We will continue to support Ambassador Brewster as he advances universal human rights.”

HRC is deeply concerned about recent efforts from religious leaders and others to remove Ambassador Brewster from his post and stands with President Obama in rejecting these unacceptable and insulting requests. 

To read this post in Spanish, click here. 

www.hrc.org/blog/hrc-stands-with-ambassador-wally-brewster?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss-feed