June 2023: Pride, LGBTQIA+ rights, more news from around the world
A newsletter from Women Beyond Walls - together we can build collective power and amplify voices to end the over-incarceration of women and girls worldwide.
Hello friends,
Thank you for joining us again, we have lots of news and opportunities to share with you this month.
LGBTQIA+ rights and the incarceration of women and girls
June is Pride Month, a time of joyful celebration of LGBTQIA+ identities. For the queer community, this time of year is an opportunity to come together to take up space in an affirming atmosphere and raise awareness for continued issues of inequality. Around the world, there is more legislation than ever protecting the rights of the queer community. There is marriage equality in 34 countries and in 2011 the United Nations Human Rights Council passed a resolution recognising LGBTQIA+ rights.
However, incarcerated LGBTQIA+ individuals, particularly trans women, are in more danger than ever in the prison environment. They are often not able to access the appropriate medical care and are at higher risk of sexual assault. Additionally, there are a disproportionate amount of LBGTQIA+ people in prisons around the world. This is largely due to the fact that same sex sexual relationships or interactions are criminalised in 66 countries and that queer people belong to a marginalised community that is more socially and economically vulnerable, which puts them at higher risk of being targeted by oppressive policies and over policing. In the United States, a 2017 study found that queer adults were incarcerated at a rate of 1,882 per 100,000, more than triple the national average. Queer women make up a third of the prison population, 8-10 times higher than the national baseline. According to the National Center for Transgender Equality, 1 in 6 transgender individuals in the US have been incarcerated in their lifetime, while the national rate is 1 in 20.
Trans women are women. Gender responsive prisons are needed for all women to provide gender-specific care for incarcerated women and keep vulnerable individuals safe. While most of the available data about incarcerated trans women does come from the United States of America, the same patterns are observed internationally as well. The United Kingdom recently enacted a new policy where trans women would be held in facilities according to their biological gender, not their gender identity. Trans women face similar challenges in Latin America.
If you want to find out more about this issue, Black and Pink, an organisation dedicated to supporting and liberating LGBTQIA+ individuals impacted by the criminal justice/ legal system, released a report in 2015 surveying LGBTQIA+ people in prisons. NBC News has done an important report on the issues of trans women being placed in men’s facilities. At Women Beyond Walls, our mission is to amplify voices to end the over-incarceration and over-criminalisation of women and girls worldwide – this mission extends to all women and girls.
News from around world
United States: There are some trans women that successfully get moved to women’s prisons, such as Christina Lusk in the United States, who has been fighting for a reassignment and access to gender affirming healthcare for four years. This article outlines her struggle to get relocated and her lawsuit against the state of Minnesota.
Kenya: First Lady of Kenya, Rachel Ruto, launched a skills-based program for incarcerated women , with the goal of reaching all 44 women’s prisons in the country. The program focuses on cross stitching and other creative arts to create items that they can sell to support economic empowerment..
Nigeria: Carmelite Prisoners Interest Organisation (CAPIO) released their revised manual on the treatment of incarcerated women in all custodial centres across Nigeria.
United Kingdom: A woman was sentenced to more than two years in prison for taking pills to woman was jailed for taking pills to end her pregnancy after the 24-week limit, during the COVID-19 pandemic. Women’s rights groups, politicians and medics are calling on the British government to reform abortion laws. Harriet Wistrich, head of the Centre for Women’s Justice (CWJ), questioned the legislation and the prosecution of the woman.“What possible purpose is served in criminalising and imprisoning this woman when at most she needs better access to healthcare and other support? She is clearly already traumatised by the experience and now her children will be left without their mother for over a year.”
Honduras: At least 41 incarcerated women were tragically killed during a prison riot. Their families are demanding answers from the authorities. “We want to know who is alive, because they are our family, they are human beings. We want to see them and know how they are. If all of [the authorities] are quiet, what are we doing here? Staying silent as well? No, we want answers” said a family member.
Opportunities
Early Bird tickets are still available for Sisters Inside’s conference - Abolition, Feminism, Now - from 8 - 10 November 2023 in Meanjin (Australia). A powerful and inspiring line up of speakers have been announced, including Angela Davis!
Formerly Incarcerated Women in Africa will be commemorating International Day against Drug Abuse and illicit Trafficking on Friday 30 June 2023 from 6-7pm EAT with a Webinar discussing the impact of the drug war on women in Africa.
The Exceptionals is an organisation in the UK that helps businesses employ formerly incarcerated people by connecting them with relevant organisations who provide training, recruitment and ongoing support.
Incarceration Nations Network has launched its 2024 Global Freedom Fellowship for formerly incarcerated leaders from around the world. Deadline 4 September 2023.
Media and literature recommendations
We have been moved and inspired by Tricia Walsh’s brave story about incarceration and overcoming in Aotearoa (also known as New Zealand). You can watch this video by using password - IAMTW.
The International Network of Formerly Incarcerated Women took over our Instagram channel on 15 June, sharing powerful content from their first international convening in May in Colombia. Don’t worry if you missed it, you can watch it here.
'My Son, Not Prison, Changed My Life': This recent article from Elle highlights the challenges that pregnant women face in prisons in the UK. Level Up have a campaign to end the imprisonment of pregnant women which you can support - an urgent issue after the tragic death of two babies in UK prisons.
This New Yorker article covers the Indiana (USA) Women’s Prison History Project, a collective of incarcerated and now formerly incarcerated women who have, over the past decade, produced an astonishing body of academic investigations into the early history of Indiana’s correctional system.
PRI, APCOF, Amnesty and other organisations held an event on Global Action to Combat Discrimination and Inequality in Criminal Justice Systems. You can access a video of the event in various languages.
Thank you for being here with us month after month and engaging in this dialogue! If you have any events/resources/reports you want us to consider highlighting in future newsletters, please don’t hesitate to contact us on hello@womenbeyondwalls.org.
With gratitude to the community,
The Women Beyond Walls Team