No Pride in Prisons to Protest Auckland Pride Parade

No Pride in Prisons to Protest Auckland Pride Parade

Queer and transgender prison abolitionist group No Pride in Prisons is holding a rally today at 5:30pm on the Karangahape Road Overbridge, in protest of the Auckland Pride Parade.

The rally follows the Auckland Pride Board’s decision to allow members of the police and the Department of Corrections to march in uniform in the parade.

“We are holding a counter-rally to take a public stand against the Auckland Pride Board’s decision to include violent, racist and transmisogynist institutions in its parade for the second year in a row,” says No Pride in Prisons spokesperson, Emilie Rākete.

“Given recent reports of racist police brutality and Corrections’ announcement to extend its ‘double-bunking’ policy, it is disgraceful that the Auckland Pride Board decided to include Corrections and police in the Pride Parade.”

“Corrections’ policies directly contribute to physical and sexual violence against trans and queer prisoners.”

Earlier this month, the Pride Board came out with its decision to allow Corrections officers to march in uniform as they did in 2015. This decision was made on the agreement that the Department of Corrections would take steps over the coming year to improve the policies affecting trans prisoners.

“To this date, the Department of Corrections has shown a blatant disregard for the treatment of all incarcerated people, especially queer and trans prisoners. The board should not have made this decision based on the Department’s vague promises for improvement.”

No Pride in Prisons believes that the effects of Corrections’ placement and double-bunking policies on queer and trans prisoners are perfectly clear.

“This year alone, No Pride in Prisons has heard from multiple transgender prisoners who have been either raped or brutally attacked while in Corrections’ custody.”

The group points to an incident late last year where a trans woman was raped after being placed in a cell overnight with a man. The group argues that this incident would not have taken place if not for the double-bunking policy.

“Corrections has introduced and massively expanded double-bunking policies despite advice that doing so would put prisoners at greater risk of physical and sexual assault. These policies have directly led to the rape of trans women and others,” says Rākete.

“Corrections has proven, time and time again, that it has no regard for the safety or bodily autonomy of inmates.”

According to No Pride in Prisons, the police have no better a track record. “A report released by the New Zealand Police in 2015 found that police officers use force against Māori at eight times the rate they do Pākehā,”[1] says Rākete.

“Last year, the New Zealand Police admitted to having an ‘unconscious bias’ against Māori.[2] While the police may call it a mere ‘bias’, these biases can be more accurately described as racism.”

“Māori currently make up about 51% of New Zealand’s prison population, despite being only 15% of the general population. This is because of the police decisions to apprehend and then charge Māori at a far higher rate than Pākehā for the same crimes.[3] What this proves is the police’s active role in perpetuating structural racism.”

“The participation of police and Corrections in the Pride Parade is a form of pinkwashing, using LGBTQI issues to mask their everyday violence and brutality, especially towards tangata whenua.”

“We encourage everyone who has been disappointed and angered by the Auckland Pride Board’s decisions to join us for the counter-rally.”

“The fact of the matter is that prisons and police are violent, racist institutions that have no place in any pride parade.”

ENDS

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