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WASHINGTON, D.C. – Independent Women Features (IW Features), the grassroots storytelling and original journalism arm of Independent Women, is sharing the story of Melissa Loman as a part of its exclusive docu-series, Cruel & Unusual Punishment: The Male Takeover of Female Prisons. Loman is currently incarcerated at Federal Medical Center, Carswell in Fort Worth, Texas, where she recalls the abuse and sexual assault she allegedly suffered at the hands of a trans-identified female inmate (a woman identifying as a man).
In 2021, the alleged abuser, Dianne Winn, began to manipulate Loman and threaten her physical safety. At the same time, Winn allegedly was undergoing sex-change interventions while in prison due to her “gender identity,” including regular testosterone injections, which Loman said made Winn’s temper worse.
The abuse reached a breaking point in November 2021 when Winn allegedly violently sexually assaulted Loman, injuring her severely. Terrified that Winn would retaliate against her, Loman at first chose not to report the attack. Then, just a few weeks later, Winn tried to attack Loman again, prompting her to be taken to a nearby hospital.
Loman reported both assaults to her doctors, but Carswell officials did not grant Loman coverage for the surgical reconstruction she desperately needed until early 2023, after family members and friends of Loman began publicly advocating for her.
Loman told IW Features: “I feel like people focus on just the men identifying as women instead of the women who identify as men. But the female-to-male is where the biggest issue is [in Carswell], because nine out of 10 of [these women] already have anger issues, and the testosterone that they receive makes that rage come to surface.”
Loman believes that the alleged abuse she endured was made possible by federal policies that not only allowed Winn to access testosterone injections in the first place, but also incentivized prison officials to look the other way when it comes to trans-identifying inmates.
An executive order signed by President Donald Trump earlier this year, however, instructed federal prisons to end all “gender-affirming care” interventions and treat inmates according to their sex, not their “gender identity.” In February, a federal judge blocked Trump’s order, ruling it likely violates the Eighth Amendment’s clause prohibiting “cruel and unusual punishment.” The Trump administration has since appealed the decision.
Loman told IW Features: “I asked that night while they were taking me to the hospital why they were being housed with us. The answer I received was ‘It’s for their safety.’ But when I asked, ‘What about our safety?’, there was not an answer.”
After interviewing Loman and combing through prison records, Kaylee McGhee White, author of Loman’s story and editor-in-chief for IW Features, said: “Melissa Loman’s story is IW Features’ first documented case of a trans-identifying inmate being held in a federal women’s prison — a serious problem the Trump administration is working to resolve through recent executive orders. And while much of the attention on this issue is paid to males who identify as women being housed in female-exclusive spaces, Loman’s experience proves that gender ideology in all of its forms can lead to devastating consequences for women. The Federal Bureau of Prisons must return to treating prisoners according to their sex, not their ‘gender identity.’”
Andrea Mew, managing editor for IW Features, said: “Melissa Loman’s story is one of the most harrowing –– and frankly, horrifying –– we’ve published to date. Loman experienced unthinkable sexual abuse thanks to a system that prioritizes ideology over women’s safety. IW Features Cruel & Unusual Punishment series was created to thrust these abuses into the light, and stories like Loman’s prove just how urgent this mission is. No woman, no matter her past, deserves to be sexually brutalized and discarded in silence. If this is what our institutions — both federal and state — are allowing, we won’t hesitate to expose the truth and demand action.”
Read Loman’s full profile on IW Features: Inmate in Women’s Federal Prison Alleges Brutal Sexual Assault By Trans-Identifying, Testosterone-Hopped Female
Read more stories about the male takeover of female prisons, as told in IW Features’ “Cruel and Unusual Punishment” series:
- Cathleen’s Story | Inmate Loses Parole After Objecting to Trans Prison Policy
- Hector’s Story | Prison Guard Resigns After ‘Immoral, Dangerous’ Trans Policies
- Amie’s Story | Exposing ‘Trans Supremacy’ Inside Women’s Prisons
- Channel’s Story | Female Inmate Says “Trans” Male Prisoner Manipulated Her into Sexual Relationship
- Crystal’s Story | Female Inmate Says Washington’s Trans Prison Policy Has Robbed Her of Her Religious Freedom
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