Protecting Trans Inmates

California to house transgender inmates by gender identity

Gov. Gavin Newsom signed a law on last month requiring California to house transgender inmates in prisons based on their gender identity—but only if the state does not have “management or security concerns,” reports NBC News.

The California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation houses men and women in separate facilities. Transgender inmates are often housed based on their sex assigned at birth. Advocates say this is dangerous, particularly for transgender women housed in facilities for men.

The law says officers must ask inmates privately during the intake process if they identify as transgender, nonbinary or intersex. Those inmates can then request to be placed in a facility that houses either men or women.