2. ASHLEY DIAMOND
Ashley Diamond is a Transgender Woman,
she was diagnosed with Gender
Dsyphoria as a teenager.
For 17 years she had been taking estrogen treatments,
testosterone blockers, and anti androgen medications.
April 2012, Ashley Diamond was imprisoned for a parole
violation for an earlier theft, she was placed in a close-
security facility for adult male felons.
Authorities denied her hormone therapy and told her to act
like a man, less than one month in prison she was sexually
assaulted by six gang members.
3. THREE YEARS OF
TORTURE IS ENOUGH
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ho_RRiuLjpY#actio
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4. ASHLEY DIAMOND
Ashley Diamond sued the Georgia Department of Corrections
after she was denied a safe environment and the medical
treatment needed to treat Gender Dysphoria.
Gender Dysphoria also known as gender identity disorder is a
condition when ones emotional and psychological identity as
male or female is opposite of their biological sex
Ashley was released August 31st, 2015 after being in prison
more than three years where she was housed with male
inmates who had abused and sexually assaulted her over eight
times
The Georgia Department of Corrections disregarded her health
and mental state, and said they had no means for protecting
transgender prisoners, they instructed her to “protect her
booty”, and be prepared to fight. Prison officials referred to
her as the “he-she-thing” and instructed her to act and appear
like a man, they also denied her hormone treatment because
they believed she was clearly a man not a woman.
5. ASHLEY DIAMOND
When a transgender male stops their
treatment, or stops taking their hormones
they can endure painful physical
transformations, your body is basically
slowly forming back to a masculine state.
Ashley had been taking her hormones for
over 17 years, when she was denied her
medication she went through extremely
painful physical and mental
transformations, her facial hair started
growing back and her body started
becoming more masculine and muscular.
Ashley was in so much pain from her
transformation and lack of medical care
she constantly had thoughts of suicide and
even had two or more attempts of suicide
and self-castration.
Ashley was placed in solitary confinement
when she tried to seek help from the
Southern Poverty Law Center, she was
also placed in there over seven times for
acting like a woman.
6. TRANSGENDER IN PRISON
Transgender: Relating to a person whose gender identity
does not correspond to that persons biological sex assigned
at birth.
Transgender people who have not had genital surgery are
generally classified according to their birth sex regardless
of how long they have lived as a member of the other sex
and how much medical treatment they have had for
purpose of housing.
Transgender people who have had genital surgery are
classified and housed based on their reassigned sex
Prison Officials are required to protect prisoners from
violence at the hands of other prisoners, officials who do
not follow this are in violation of the Eighth Amendment,
prohibition of cruel and unusual punishment.
7. SEXUAL ASSAULT
Transgender individuals are nine times more likely than
other inmates to be sexually harassed or assaulted
within twelve months of entering prison
Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Gender
Nonconforming people are among those most at risk of
sexual abuse.
To address the crisis, Congress passed the Prison Rape
Elimination Act, a set of rules that prevent, detect and
respond to abuse.
8. ASHLEY DIAMOND
The Justice Department argued that Georgia’s
treatment policy was unconstitutional, Ashley
had been receiving the hormone treatments
for years before her arrest.
Prison Officials did not identify her as
transgender on any prison forms, making her
illegible for hormone treatments.
Because of this Ashley has been violently
transformed, she has lost breast tissue, and
her female secondary sex characteristics have
diminished.
Transgender inmates like Ashley have a right
to medical care, all inmates must be treated
with fairness, dignity and respect they are
people too.
9. QUESTIONS:
Do you agree that individuals who have not had genital
surgery should be placed in prisons according to their
sex assigned at birth, even if they have taken hormone
treatments before their arrest? Why?
How do you think prisons should assign housing for
members of the LGBT community to ensure their safety?