Female Prisoners Beg for Help in Light of California Law That Lets Men Who Identify as Women into Women-Only Prisons

“I’m trying not to become depressed by the presence of these men. It’s hard to believe nobody stepped up to stop this?”

“We’ve been abandoned. We’re now prey for men.”

These are the words of Amber Jackson, a female prisoner at the California Institution for Women (CIW), in response to the state moving four men who identify as women into the prison with her in accordance with California’s SB 132.

Gov. Gavin Newsom signed SB 132, The Transgender Respect, Agency and Dignity Act, into law in September 2020, and it went into effect on January 1, 2021. This law, originally adopted by California State Senator Scott Weiner, requires not only that the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) ask each prisoner entering into custody of their gender identity, but it also requires the Department to house the prisoner “at a correctional facility designated for men or women based on the individual’s preference.” Furthermore, they may not deny a request for the different housing based on the prisoner’s anatomy (including genitalia) – meaning that a prisoner who is biologically male can be moved into a women’s-only prison.

And how does the CDCR determine if the requests are made by those who authentically consider themselves transgender versus those who simply want to get moved into a prison full of women? Well, they’re not very clear on that.

According to the CDCR’s FAQ regarding SB 132, “all placement requests will go through an in-depth review prior to approval or denial.” However, the “CDCR does not determine an incarcerated person’s gender identity. Every incarcerated person self-identifies. (…) This self-identification will guide the process of requesting to be searched and/or housed according to gender identity” (author’s emphasis).

The CDCR additionally states that the “decision whether or not to take hormones does not impact eligibility to be housed according to one’s gender identity,” and they confirm that “transgender and cisgender people are currently being housed together and will continue to be housed together when appropriate.”

To summarize, a male prisoner does not need to have a sex change to secure placement in a female prison. They do not need to even take any hormone therapy. All they have to do is self-identify as a woman and pass a subjective safety test, and they will not only be allowed to move to a women’s prison, but they also have the chance of being bunked with a woman as well.

And the CDCR is well aware of the risks, stating that “the possibility of pregnancy was considered in the development of this policy,” and explaining that sexual acts are not allowed in prison and will be met with “disciplinary action.”

Since the law went into effect in January, 255 California men have requested to transfer into a female institution, all claiming to be women – and the CDCR has not denied a single housing request, approving the 21 requests that they have so far processed. Jackson, who has been publishing frequent updates through the Santa Monica Observer, explains that she expects many more to come.

“Gender fraud is something I expect men to do a lot of as the conditions of women’s prisons are much better,” Jackson said in an initial post on the matter.

An officer at CIW allegedly explained to Jackson that three of the four male prisoners were HIV positive, and they started having sex with many of the female inmates almost immediately upon arrival.

“I’m not anti-transgender people,” Jackson said. “However, trans rights trample of the rights of the rest of us. Currently, a handful of transwomen are causing a disproportionate amount of problems. No good will come of this.”

Apparently aware of the sex occurring between the men and women at the prison, CDCR rushed to begin providing condoms and Plan B emergency contraceptives, “which appeared shortly after the men.” A post by the Women’s Liberation Front (WoLF) explained that “the new resources are a tacit admission by officials that women should expect to be raped when housed in prison with men, where all sex is considered non-consensual by default within the system.”

However, a post on July 22 by Jackson states that, just 12 days after the prison announced that it would be providing condoms to the prisoners, they suspended the program “until further notice.” Jackson alleges that this is because the prison realized that “men could now rape women and leave no evidence behind.”

Jackson is in contact with a couple activist organizations in order to fight this law and protect female prisoners from evil men. We pray for the protection of these women as lawmakers ignore their struggles in pursuit of appeasing the transgender community at all costs.

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