Trans Inmate In Georgia Assaulted, Raped and Forced To Transition Back
Sexual assault lawsuit filed against Georgia Department of Corrections.
(Photo: Buzzfeed)
A federal lawsuit has been filed against the Georgia Department of Corrections by the Southern Poverty Law Centre on behalf of a transgender inmate, Ashley Diamond who has allegedly been denied medical treatment and has been assaulted, harassed, and raped by other inmates at her men’s prison. The 36-year-old inmate says she’s been denied hormone treatments that she had been receiving for the previous 17 years since she entered prison three years ago for a nonviolent offense.
“Ashley Diamond was not sentenced to sexual assault and a gender change when she was imprisoned for a parole violation,” said Chinyere Ezie, Southern Poverty Law Centre staff attorney, in a statement. “Tragically, the state of Georgia is forcing Ashley to transition from female to male by denying her the protections and medical care she needs. Transgender inmates like Ashley have a right to be kept safe and to receive medically necessary treatment, including hormones.”
According to the lawsuit, medical personnel at the prison have acknowledged Diamond’s gender dysphoria diagnosis, but refused to authorize treatment, despite recommendations by a prison psychologist that she be provided hormone therapy. Prison officials have also allegedly “disregarded Ms. Diamond’s substantial vulnerability to sexual assault – a problem that is well-documented within GDC.”
Diamond’s attorneys claim that her facial hair has started growing and her body is reverting to a masculine state, and that the issue has led her to attempt suicide and self-castration.
“It is amazing how a minor brush with the law has turned into a death sentence,” Diamond said. “This is about more than just hormone treatment. This is about grow human rights violations. Three years of torture is enough.”
-by Sarah Furlong
