No Pride in Prisons to Picket Department of Corrections’ Office

Prisoner advocacy group No Pride in Prisons will hold a picket outside the Department of Corrections’ Northern Regional Office on Friday, April 22 from 8am to midday.

No Pride In Prisons’ spokesperson, Ti Lamusse, says “We are holding this picket in response to recent allegations from an incarcerated transgender woman. She alleges that she was raped by prison staff in Whanganui Men’s Prison.”

The woman says that she was sexually assaulted by two Corrections Officers shortly after her transfer from another facility last year. “She told us that she tried to report the incident to prison staff at the time, but never heard anything further from the complaint.”

In March, the woman made contact with No Pride in Prisons again, informing the group that she had been raped by a third prison officer in a gymnasium stairwell. “We immediately filed a formal complaint with prison management on her behalf,” says Lamusse.

“The woman says that Corrections didn’t bother to act on the complaint that she made following the first incident. If action had been taken, perhaps she would not have been raped again.”

According to the group, Corrections still hasn’t taken steps to ensure the safety of this woman. “The men who she said raped her still work at Whanganui Men’s Prison. Her requests to transfer to another facility have also been ignored.”

“Corrections has deliberately kept information from No Pride in Prisons, despite the woman naming us as her advocates. Corrections is clearly more concerned about the way this will look in the media than for the safety of incarcerated people.”

No Pride in Prisons says that this case is representative of a wider problem. “Rape is a systemic issue in New Zealand prisons. We have now heard from multiple transgender women who have been raped while in Corrections’ custody.”

“According to a 2007 US study, trans women in men’s prisons are 13 times more likely to be sexually assaulted than the men they are imprisoned with.”

“A 2015 survey of incarcerated LGBTIQ people found that 12% of respondents had been raped by staff. The rape of prisoners by their jailers is an all-too-common event.”

“Trans women incarcerated in men’s prisons are, from the outset, put at considerable risk of assault and rape. It is supposedly the job of prison staff to prevent this kind of violence, not to enact it.”

“No Pride in Prisons is demanding that a full and thorough investigation into both instances of alleged sexual assault take place by an independent authority.”

“In the interim, the officers in question must be immediately suspended so as to prevent any potential backlash against the woman.”

The picket follows a “Call-in to Call Out Corrections” in March where hundreds of members and supporters of No Pride in Prisons emailed, called, faxed and wrote letters to Corrections, demanding action to ensure the safety of the woman.

No Pride in Prisons is holding the picket to make it clear that Corrections can no longer ignore this woman’s safety. “If Corrections fails to act, we will.”

Link to the Facebook event page:

https://www.facebook.com/events/1132945070084241/

ENDS

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