WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, Independent Women released an extensive report, titled “Cruel and Unusual Punishment: Stopping the Dangerous Policies Putting Men in Women’s Prisons,” that emphasizes why women’s prisons should remain as female-only facilities and the threat radical gender ideology poses to female inmates.
May Mailman and Inez Stepman, legal director and legal analyst, respectively, for Independent Women authored the report, which “aims to restore fairness, uphold constitutional protections, and prioritize the safety and dignity of incarcerated women in the face of dangerous and ideologically driven policies,” according to its executive summary.
The executive summary reads, in part:
“In recent years, state and federal policies have increasingly permitted or required male inmates, often with histories of violent or sexual offenses, to be transferred to women’s facilities based on self-declared gender identity. These practices ignore biological differences and the safety of female inmates, many of whom are survivors of sexual violence. Studies reveal alarming statistics: male inmates identifying as women are disproportionately likely to have committed sexual offenses, and incarcerated women face heightened risks of harassment and assault under these policies.”
The nearly 50-page report calls for meaningful action through both policy and legal reforms, such as “[a]mending PREA regulations to prevent gender identity-based transfers to women’s prisons” and “[c]larifying that the ADA does not mandate ‘transition’ services or mixed-sex housing.”
Additional policy and legal reforms include:
- Protecting incarcerated women’s rights to report abuse without retaliation or erasure of their claims.
- Eliminating reliance on activist medical guidelines, such as those from WPATH, which lack scientific consensus.
- Tying federal prison funding to policies that prioritize safety for female inmates.
May Mailman, legal director for Independent Women, said: “Women do not deserve to be housed in locked prisons with violent criminal males, period. During the campaign, Kamala Harris, unashamed of her overt backing of trans-identifying men in women’s prisons, tried to indicate the law required such insanity. She was wrong. ‘Cruel and Unusual Punishment: Stopping the Dangerous Policies Putting Men in Women’s Prisons’ makes clear that policy leaders hold clear authority to protect women and enforce sanity. This is a must-read for politicians and their staff trying to end the predations of gender ideology.”
Inez Stepman, legal analyst at Independent Women, said: “We’ve already seen what the delusion that biological sex is changeable has done to women’s sports and locker rooms. But that those ideologues would extend this idea even to prisons, and subject women to being housed alongside convicted sex offenders under the guise of ‘transition’ is a new level of insanity and callousness towards women’s safety. This isn’t a report I ever thought I’d have to write, but the story of dangerous men being placed in women’s prisons is one that has to be told. The law has been systematically twisted across the country to value the ‘rights’ of men to pretend to be the opposite sex over the physical and mental safety of incarcerated women. I hope the light this report brings to the issue forces policymakers to face the consequences of their ideological decisions and reconsider.”
Amie Ichikawa, a former inmate, Independent Women ambassador, and co-founder of Woman II Woman, a non-profit organization providing re-entry services, parole hearing prep, and advocacy for the safety and dignity of incarcerated women in California, said: “The Prison Rape Elimination Act is basically guidelines on how to report rapes and get funding for it. In over 20 years, it has not eliminated prison rape. The unfortunate reality is that it has done nothing to improve the safety or well-being of incarcerated women. It needs to be overhauled, and this detailed report is the starting point for ensuring women in our nation’s county jails and state and federal prisons are protected from all forms of sexual abuse.”
The report’s release comes less than a year after the launch of IW Features’ exclusive docu-series, “Cruel & Unusual Punishment: The Male Takeover of Female Prisons.” Through the ongoing Cruel & Unusual Punishment documentary series, IW Features, the grassroots storytelling program of Independent Women, brings voices to light who detail the untold, gruesome story about what’s been happening to female inmates behind closed doors. As more and more prison systems allow men to declare themselves “women” and opt to be housed in facilities meant for women-only, the voices of those most affected deserve to be heard.
The “Cruel & Unusual Punishment: The Male Takeover of Female Prisons” docu-series has highlighted the following stories:
- Male Rights ‘Overrode Ours’: Former Inmate Jennifer Barela Exposes Sex Discrimination After Women’s Prisons Welcomed Men
- Exposing ‘Trans Supremacy’ Inside Women’s Prisons | Amie Ichikawa’s Story
- ‘Our Sentence Wasn’t To Be Abused,’ Says Female Rape Alissa Kamholz Victim Forced to Live Behind Bars With a Man
- Prison Guard Hector Bravo Ferrel Resigns After ‘Immoral, Dangerous’ Trans Policies
- Sexual Assault Victim Evelyn* Shares ‘Trauma’ of Prison’s Transgender Policies
- Female Inmate Dana Gray Sexually Harassed By Fully-Intact Male Inmate Speaks Out From Behind Bars
- Retired Law Enforcement Official Richard Valdemar Calls Out ‘Bigotry’ of Prison Self-ID Policies
- Female Inmate Tomiekia Johnson Blasts Policies Forcing Her to Live With Men
- Inmate Cathleen Quinn Loses Parole After Objecting to Trans Prison Policy
- Longtime Prison Teacher Alicia Beckmann Quits After Male Inmates Were Transferred to Minnesota Women’s Facility
- Seattle Jail Nurse Olivia* Quits After ‘Unsafe’ Trans Policies Force Female Inmates to Share Space With Predatory Men
- Female Inmate Crystal Jackson Says Washington’s Trans Prison Policy Has Robbed Her of Her Religious Freedom
- Female Inmate Channel Johnson Says ‘Trans’ Male Prisoner Manipulated Her into Sexual Relationship
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