In a significant policy shift, former President Donald Trump has rescinded previous directives mandating the placement of male inmates identifying as female within women's correctional facilities.
This decision impacts approximately 1,500 male prisoners in federal custody who self-identify as women. Notably, 15 percent of individuals classified as "women" in these institutions are, in fact, biologically male individuals identifying as transgender.
The United States federal prison system houses around 152,000 inmates, with approximately 144,000 being male. According to The New York Times, 750 of these prisoners are women who identify as men. However, it is observed that most women identifying as men do not choose to be housed with male inmates. The Times further highlights that prisoners claiming a gender identity opposite to their biological sex are "10 times as likely to report being sexually victimized as other prisoners."
As reported by The Post Millennial, the executive order also halts federal funding for sex reassignment surgeries and hormone treatments for male inmates identifying as transgender. This policy extends to illegal immigrants in detention, who previously had access to such medical interventions funded by American taxpayers. The rationale for providing these procedures has been that they constitute necessary medical care, which the Constitution mandates for prisoners. However, the new directive no longer considers altering one's physical body to align with their gender identity as medically essential.
This policy change is hailed as a "major victory" by the Women's Liberation Front, an organization actively opposing the inclusion of men in women's prisons. They are currently involved in a legal battle in California following the placement of male inmate Tremaine Carroll in a women's facility. Carroll was subsequently removed after facing accusations of rape within the prison. During the proceedings, a Madera County judge ruled that Carroll must be addressed using "she/her" pronouns.
Critics of the ban on housing male inmates with women express concerns about the potential for increased sexual violence against these individuals in male prisons. Shannon Minter of the National Center for Lesbian Rights, an advocate for allowing men into women's prisons, warned, "There will be rapes and physical assaults because of this policy. Its also terrible for prison officials, who right now have the authority to use discretion about what makes the most sense for the safety and security of the facility."
The policy reversal marks a return to the stance initially adopted during Trump's first term, which countered the Obama administration's Bureau of Prisons policy allowing transgender inmates to be housed according to their gender identity. President Joe Biden had reinstated the Obama-era policy upon taking office in 2021. Now, Trump has reasserted the requirement that biological sex be the sole criterion for determining whether a prisoner is housed in a men's or women's facility. This decision underscores a broader conservative emphasis on traditional values and the prioritization of biological realities over gender identity in policy-making.
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