Trans discrimination
Hello, my name is Miss Cyrus and I am a transgender woman currently serving time here at HMP Dovegate. Now, I can occasionally let certain situations go, but not when it comes to an equality issue.
I suffer frequent discrimination as a trans woman in a male prison, and things are made even more difficult when I do not feel supported by the equalities department within the prison, as is the case here. A transphobe is a word given to someone who has a fear or dislike of transgender people, and I seem to encounter a lot of them in here.
As a woman in a male prison, I have to put up with staring from other prisoners, prisoners making fun of me, prisoners trying to bully me, being isolated by prisoners, and being treated less favorably by staff. However, I mostly have to endure other prisoners making sexual advances towards me and turning nasty when those advances go unanswered.
Why can’t people just treat one another with respect, regardless of who they are? What can I do if I do not feel supported by my prison’s equalities department? Also, I’d love to hear of any other trans people’s experiences of prison. Many thanks to Inside Time for giving people like myself a platform that enables us to have a voice.
I am very touched by this article and i really feel the pain that cyrus is going through, especially as i was a trans person who was in prison myself. Change does need to happen all the prisons all over the country. I am currently going through a court process for judical review of my treatment that i had in prison to see if i can change things for trans people who are still and who may go to prison.
I doubt if we know enough, or are legally brave enough to answer. The one point I would humbly make, – without pretending to esoteric knowledge, – is that there is one acknowledged male cross-dress role called a ‘sissy,’ which is open to male advances, – and it sounds as if you could usefully make clear that you’re not that.