Man murders women in “burglary gone bad,” is sentenced to life in prison in 1987, becomes trans in 2008, receives hormones, but remains pre-op in male prison, now seeks transfer to women’s prison and change of Canadian policies to accommodate pre-op transgender persons, which is already currently happening.
The claims state experiencing violence, but name no perpetrators and also interestingly state:
Worse than the harassment, fear, and threats of physical violence, the affidavit continues, is the pain Bilyk feels when someone fails to acknowledge her as a woman.
“Now, staff usually use female pronouns, but sometimes I am still referred to as a man,” it reads. “It makes me want to cry and scream.”
Despite numerous voiced concerns from feminists and gender identity specialists alike, multiple prisons in Canada are changing their policies to accommodate pre-op trans women.
In January, Ontario’s provincial prison system became the first in Canada to make it official policy to place pre-op transgender inmates in facilities based on their gender identities.
On Nov. 15, B.C. became the second.
Now, representatives for the governments of Alberta and the Yukon Territories say their correctional systems are revising policies for transgender inmates to follow Ontario’s lead.
Trans woman Bianca Sawer is the first transgender person to be transferred from a male facility to a female facility. In a remarkable display of cognitive dissonance and inability to recognize herself imposing the same harm she felt in a male prison she notes:
“It was a calming euphoria,” she said [regarding her relief upon arriving at Alouette Correctional Centre, a provincial prison for women].
Sawyer contrasted that feeling to years spent in prisons where she was constantly surrounded by male prisoners.
Women and girls deserve this same “calming euphoria.” The United Nations Standard Minimum Rules for Treatment of Prisoners are very clear in separation based on sex:
Separation of categories
8. The different categories of prisoners shall be kept in separate institutions or parts of institutions taking account of their sex, age, criminal record, the legal reason for their detention and the necessities of their treatment. Thus,
( a ) Men and women shall so far as possible be detained in separate institutions; in an institution which receives both men and women the whole of the premises allocated to women shall be entirely separate
In the interest of safety, health and concerns separate facilities would be better suited for all involved. Male persons, including trans women, should not be housed in female facilities.
Read the UN Minimum Standards at https://www.unodc.org/pdf/criminal_justice/UN_Standard_Minimum_Rules_for_the_Treatment_of_Prisoners.pdf
The Politics of Gender 