The women had engaged in “consensual sexual relations with another inmate,” the state Department of Corrections told NJ.com. He was being held at the Edna Mahan Correctional Facility in Union Township, about 16 miles west of New York City. Transgender inmate Demi Minor, 27, who is serving 30 years for manslaughter, has been transferred to another prison for young adults. Minor was reportedly one of 27 transgender women at the Edna Mahan facility. New Jersey introduced a policy that allows inmates to be housed according to their self-identified sexual identity. He did so after a lawsuit was filed by a transgender inmate held in a men’s prison. The case was supported by the American Civil Liberties Union. As a result of the pregnancies, the New Jersey Department of Corrections said it is currently reviewing its policy for housing transgender inmates with the intention of “implementing minor modifications.” A spokesman said housing decisions “are made within the parameters of the settlement agreement, which requires consideration of the individual’s gender identity and health and safety”. Minore used a blog to complain about his treatment by New Jersey authorities. A plea for a strip search by a female officer was refused while she was being held in a youth detention facility. “Then I was taken to the New Jersey State Prison, where the guards kept calling me, this and that. “I’ve been called this and that over 30 times, that hasn’t happened to me in years of mostly being referred to as a man. “When I arrived at Trenton State Prison, several guards searched me and put me in the infirmary under constant surveillance.” Minor added: “I don’t think the DOC understands the psychological damage that has been caused by moving me from a women’s prison to a men’s facility, it’s cruel and, I don’t know what it’s like to live as a man, and I refuse to ever go back to that habits or behaviours’. In January, the Biden administration reinstated guidelines rescinded by Donald Trump that required federal prisons to consider the safety of transgender inmates. The move honored a campaign promise in which Joe Biden promised to address the widespread abuse faced by transgender prisoners. A 2020 study by NBC found that only 15 of the roughly 5,000 transgender inmates in state prisons were housed according to their sexual identity. This left them vulnerable to harassment, discrimination and sexual assault. However, the policy only applies to federal prisons where about 1,500 transgender inmates are held.
