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Ask Lambda Legal — Stop Prison Rape

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May 13, 2015

Q: My friend is a transgender woman in a men’s prison. Last year she was raped, and I’m afraid it’ll happen again. Why can’t she be moved to a women’s prison? Your friend would probably be much less likely to suffer sexual assault if she was housed with other women in a woman’s facility. But unlike Laverne Cox’s character in Orange is the New Black, transgender incarcerated people in the U.S. are still usually housed according to the sex assigned at birth, instead of by gender identity. This practice makes transgender people more vulnerable to harassment or attack by staff or fellow incarcerated people. A California study found that transgender people were 13 times more likely to be sexually assaulted than non-transgender people in prison.

See Also: Ask Lambda Legal, Criminal Justice, Transgender Rights
As May 15 Deadline Looms, Lambda Legal Urges Texas Governor to Comply With Prison Rape Elimination Act

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May 1, 2015

With exactly two weeks remaining until the U.S. Justice Department’s May 15 deadline for the governors of all 50 states to confirm that their state is in compliance with the national standards set by the Prison Rape Elimination Act (PREA), Lambda Legal urges Texas Governor Greg Abbott to adopt the PREA standards unconditionally and acknowledge that rape and sexual assault can no longer be accepted as part of the sentence served for any crime.

See Also: Criminal Justice, Criminal Justice and Police Misconduct, Stop Prison Rape in Texas
4 Ways LGBT People and People Living with HIV Are Victimized in the Criminal Justice System

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April 24, 2015

Lambda Legal has a long history of taking action to end anti-LGBT hate violence, but we also have a long history of opposing victimization of LGBT people and people living with HIV within or at the hands of the criminal justice system.

See Also: Criminal Justice, Criminal Justice and Police Misconduct
LGBT-Inclusive End Racial Profiling Act Introduced

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April 22, 2015

Today, the End Racial Profiling Act (ERPA) was reintroduced by Congressmembers Ben Cardin and John Conyers with key, new language expanding the ban on racial profiling to include profiling based on gender, gender identity, and sexual orientation.

See Also: Criminal Justice, Criminal Justice and Police Misconduct
Lambda Legal Files Emergency Papers Seeking Safekeeping for Transgender Woman in Texas Prison

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March 4, 2015

Late last night Lambda Legal filed an emergency motion in federal court asking that the court compel the Texas Department of Criminal Justice (TDCJ) to place Passion Star, a transgender woman currently incarcerated in TDCJ’s male facilities, in safekeeping to protect her from further sexual assault and threats to her life.

See Also: Criminal Justice, Government Misconduct and Support for Discrimination, Transgender Rights
Human Rights Abuses of LGBT and HIV+ People in the U.S.

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October 30, 2014

In anticipation of the 2015 Universal Periodic Review (UPR), a comprehensive assessment of the human rights record of all UN member countries, Lambda Legal has authored a set of UPR comments surrounding the policing, detention and incarceration of LGBT people and people living with HIV.

See Also: Anti-LGBT Rulings, Laws and Amendments, Criminal Justice, Discrimination, Government Misconduct and Support for Discrimination, HIV, School-to-Prison Pipeline, Teens & Young Adults, Transgender Rights, Youth, Youth and Schools, Youth in Out-of-Home Care
When Justice Is for Sale, More People Go to Jail!

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October 29, 2014

It’s election season, and if you live in one of the 39 states that elect judges, you may have seen one of those ‘soft on crime’ TV ads claiming that a judicial candidate “sides with child predators,” “is sympathetic to rapists” or “helped free a terrorist.”

See Also: Anti-LGBT Legislation and Amendments, Criminal Justice, Fair Courts Project, Government Misconduct and Support for Discrimination
Lambda Legal Sues Texas Prison System on Behalf of Transgender Woman over Persistent Sexual Abuse and Violence

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October 23, 2014

Lambda Legal today filed a federal lawsuit on behalf of Passion Star, a transgender woman currently in the custody of the Texas Department of Criminal Justice (TDCJ), arguing that TCDJ officials have displayed deliberate indifference to threats of sexual assault and violence against Ms. Star in TDCJ’s male facilities.

See Also: Criminal Justice, Government Misconduct and Support for Discrimination, Prison Rape Elimination Act, Prisons, Transgender Rights
Ending the "Panic"

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September 29, 2014

We look to courts for justice, not to reinforce prejudices.

See Also: Criminal Justice, Fair Courts Project, Government Misconduct and Support for Discrimination, Transgender Rights
Lambda Legal Calls for Halt to HIV-Based Criminal Prosecutions in Wake of Department of Justice Guidance

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July 17, 2014

Lambda Legal today called for a moratorium on all HIV-based criminal prosecutions until state legislatures take action to implement the reforms recommended in the recent Department of Justice (DOJ) guidance advising states to eliminate such prosecutions absent clear evidence of an intent to harm and a significant risk of actual transmission.

See Also: Criminal Justice, HIV