Trans/Gender Variant in Prison Committee

Last updated 7/2/07

As of 4/15/06, TIP has separated from its parent organization California Prison Focus, and is now a sponsored project of the TGI Justice Project. To reach us, use the updated contact information below.

While no one has it easy in prison, transgender and gender variant prisoners often experience double jeopardy when it comes to surviving in prison. Prison Administrators deny they exist, the medical staff is usually uncaring and sometimes sadistic, the custody staff routinely harass them, and they are sometimes the victim of sexual assault by both staff and other prisoners.

Some examples of the abuses we’re seen are:
 

	Male-to-female prisoners arbitrarily denied hormone therapy, even after they’ve developed female characteristics.
	Those who receive hormones get them irregularly and without proper consultation.
	Strip searches of transgender prisoners performed in front of other non-transgender prisoners.
	Verbal harassment and punishment based on gender identify by the staff is common.
	Gender appropriate clothing and hair style are prohibited and those who are caught attempting to appear as their chosen gender are given disciplinary notices and/or locked in administrative segregation.
	Prison medical staff uninformed on transgender issues and often behave negatively towards TG/GV prisoners.
	Transgender prisoners housed and referred to according to their genitalia with no choice in housing designation.

TIP's mission is to end the discrimination, medical neglect, abuse and violence experienced by transgender and gender variant people, and people with intersex conditions (TGI) in CA prisons. We are an abolitionist organization, in that while we fight for the immediate needs of TGI people in prison, we do not advocate for reforms that further expand the prison industrial complex. We work to improve conditions for TGI people in prison and to promote public awareness of the experiences of TGI people in prison, all while prioritizing and building the leadership of current and former prisoners. Our work deliberately combines race, class, and ability along with gender and intersex status, because low-income communities of color are disproportionately harmed by the prison industrial complex. Thus, TIP embraces the wide diversity of gender apparent in communities of color, such as butches, studs, gressors, A.G.s, queens, divas, gay boys, and others.

We are always welcoming of eager individuals who want to commit some of their time to the service of human rights work in this area. Trans/Gender Variant in Prison Committee meets every fourth Tuesday of the month, 6:30 - 8:30 p.m. If you're interested in joining us, please call us or send us an email to let us know!

Trans/Gender Variant in Prison Committee
C/O TGIJP
1095 Market Street, Suite 308
San Francisco, CA 94102
Phone: 510-677-5500; after 7/6/07, 415-252-1444
Fax: after 7/6/07, 415-252-1554
tipATriseup.net, missmajorATtgijp.org