NEW YORK (1010 WINS) — A New York City Council task force investigating the Department of Correction’s treatment of trans, gender-nonconforming, nonbinary and intersex people questioned DOC Commissioner Louis Molina at a hearing on Wednesday.
The hearing was held the day after investigative outlet The City and New York Magazine published an article detailing sexual harassment, rape and abuse of LGBTQ+ detainees after Mayor Eric Adams’ administration allowed a program designed to protect trans inmates deteriorate.
Molina fired administrators who supported the unit, members quit in protest of the city’s treatment of LGBTQ+ prisoners and the program currently employs only one person.
The council’s task force investigating abuses against trans, gender-nonconforming, nonbinary and intersex people in New York City prisons issued a 146-page report in August that accused the DOC of failing to protect LGBTQ+ prisoners.
In most of the cases the task force studied, people were housed in units inconsistent with their gender.
Trans women regularly faced processing at men’s intake facilities — a process that could take days, according to the report. There they faced harassment and sexual assault.
The report also detailed instances where guards would threaten trans detainees with housing changes as a punishment. Given the sexual violence trans women face when housed in men’s prisons, the threat amounts to a threat of rape.
The DOC refused to cooperate with the task force, withholding data and preventing access to prisons while the council members investigated, according to internal emails reviewed by investigative outlet The City.
After the task force released its findings, the DOC released a public response in which it claimed to be committed to protecting trans inmates.
“The New York City Department of Correction is committed to ensuring
that transgender, gender non-conforming, gender non-binary, and intersex individuals in custody are treated with dignity and respect and housed safely and appropriately
while in city jails,” wrote the department. “Since 2018, the Department has housed individuals in custody based upon gender identity.”
City Council is currently considering a bill aimed at curtailing abuses against trans, gender-nonconforming, nonbinary, and intersex people in New York City prisons dubbed the Gender Identity Respect, Dignity and Safety Act.
The legislation would introduce an appeals process for those who were denied a housing request predicated on gender identity. It would also create a “resource navigator program” aimed at helping trans detainees access healthcare.
The DOC would be required to issue monthly reports on housing placements, denials and objections as well as instances of violence against trans, non-binary and intersex prisoners.
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