The current handling of transgender offenders and inmates has been described as a “real tangled mess” and “pretty dire” by a professor at Mount Allison University in Sackville.
Ardath Whynacht is a critical criminologist and sociologist who says we haven’t seen a strong movement in this country when it comes to respecting their human rights. Whynacht says along with the risk of sexual assault, they experience increased harrasment and stigma from other inmates along with correctional inmates and prison staff.
“Trans inmates often have to be in segregation for long periods of time for their own protection,” says Whynacht, “And as we can all imagine, living in segregation and solitary confinement carries a huge psychological toll.”
New Brunswick is the only province that does not fund gender-reassignment surgeries for trans people and Whynacht says it’s a source of embarassment for her as a resident of the province how unresponsive the government has been.
The Correctional Service of Canada has a commissioner’s directive on what’s called gender dysphoria, described as a conflict with a person’s gender identity and their biological sex. The placement of pre-operative offenders is based on their biological sex. We reached out to the CSC for comment, and spokesperson Lori Halfper gave us a statement which says, “all placement decisions take into account individual assessments conducted to make sure offenders with gender dysphoria are accomodated with due regard for their vulnerabilities with respect to their needs.”
The directive says inmates with diagnosed gender dysphoria can start or continue hormone therapy prescribed by a psychiatrist or doctor qualified in the area of gender dysphoria. However, Whynacht says the experience of being trangender is on a spectrum, so not all trans people want or need the full range of surgeries.
Whynacht says trans inmates need to be safe from stigma, discrimination and sexual assault when they are incarcerated. She says unncessary spending in our criminal justice system could be solved with better approaches to public education to reduce transphobia and the provision of trans health care.
“I think some listeners might be asking themselves, if someone has commmited a crime then taxpayers shouldn’t have to pay for hormone treatment and taxpayers shouldn’t have to pay for gender confirming surgery but I think it’s important to underscore that this is life or death for trans people.”
