Abuse, discrimination pervasive in criminal legal system for LGBTQ+ people, report says
For Jennifer Love Williams, the challenges of being a transgender woman in the criminal legal system became evident at age 24, with her first public defender. Initially friendly, his demeanor transformed once he noticed the name on Williams’ documents did not match her appearance.
Later, in her 30s, Williams spent six years in New Jersey corrections facilities, where, she said, officers and staff placed her in solitary confinement, called her derogatory names, mocked her appearance or berated her for not wearing a bra.
Being subject to abuse while in criminal detention is a common experience for people who identify as LGBTQ+, two legal advocacy groups found in a national survey about the criminal legal system.
The survey of more than 2,500 LGBTQ and HIV-positive people also found that few institutions inspired much trust, with nearly 3 in 5 saying they didn’t trust the prison system.
The findings were among those cited in a report released Thursday by New York-based LGBTQ advocacy group Lambda Legal in partnership with Black and Pink, a national prison reform group serving LGBTQ+ people and individuals living with HIV.
“Our community continues to experience violence and discrimination within the system,” said Richard Saenz, a senior attorney for Lambda Legal who managed the project. “It’s an urgent problem, and we know there isn’t just one solution.”
Despite gains, agencies fall short
The group’s “Protected and Served?” survey echoed one conducted in 2012, exploring participants’ trust in criminal legal institutions, including police and other law enforcement, prison and jails, courts, schools and other government agencies.
Since the 2012 report, Lambda Legal noted many police agencies, largely prompted by litigation and community advocacy, adjusted guidelines and training to better serve LGBTQ+ people. Still, the latest report said, problems remain.
“Law enforcement departments and government agencies continue to fall short when it comes to providing proper oversight, enforcing these policies, and providing ongoing training or accountability measures to ensure that officers understand and comply with them,” it said.
The latest survey, conducted in August, polled 2,546 people in the U.S., Puerto Rico and Virgin Islands who identify as LGBTQ+ and/or who have HIV. About 1 in 6 participants were detained at the time of the survey, which was partially distributed through advocacy organizations serving people more likely to have interacted with police and the criminal system.
What did the survey find?
More than half of those who took the survey had interacted with law enforcement in the previous five years, and nearly all (94.3%) of those detained in prison or jail within that period reported experiencing abuse of some kind, ranging from physical, verbal or sexual assault or harassment to being misgendered or falsely accused of an offense.
Four in 5 (82%) reported being verbally assaulted by staff, while more than half reported being sexually harassed. More than half of transgender or nonbinary participants reported being placed in inmate housing inconsistent with their gender identity.
That, too, was Williams' experience in New Jersey.
“One officer, an older Black gentleman, told me he was sorry and said I didn’t seem like I belonged in this situation,” Williams, now 46 years old, said. “He said, there’s girls like you who come in here and a lot of officers are going to hate you because you’re Black – but there’s more who are going to hate you because of the way you are.”
Lambda Legal's survey also showed that few American systems inspired much trust among participants, with only the school system claiming a majority (52%) of those who said they completely or somewhat trusted that system; just over 40% of participants said they completely or somewhat trusted child protective services or their local police departments.
'They're still using the system to criminalize us'
Saenz said collecting such data was important considering the rise in proposed legislation restricting LGBTQ rights, most of it targeting the young transgender community.
“They’re still using the system to criminalize us,” he said. “Our history for the past 50 years has really been about responding to police violence and the mass incarceration of LGBTQ people.”
A report released last year showed that LGBTQ people are three times more likely to be incarcerated than the general population and more than twice as likely to be arrested as straight people.
Williams said she was lucky that her family took her in upon her release and gave her the means to restart her life. Eventually, she founded the Jen Love Project, visiting LGBTQ inmates and providing care packages to others being released with items like clothing, soap and fast-food gift cards.
“I’m around, but I’m bruised,” she said. “I’m going back to prisons to let other folks know, ‘I see you. You’re not crazy. You are human, regardless of what they tell you.’”
Dig deeper:
- 'What are some systemic changes we can make?': LGBTQ people more likely than straight people to end up in prison
- ‘Is this person going to hurt me?’:Transgender inmates say Kansas prisons put them in danger
- More: Transgender and nonbinary youths are coming out at younger ages, survey says. Risks remain.