In what world is it okay to throw a fifteen year old girl in a men’s prison? Not one that I want to be apart of.
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Al-Jazeera America is reporting on an especially disturbing story this week coming out of one of America’s northeastern liberal bastions, Connecticut.
A transgender teenager in Connecticut was transferred out of state custody and into an adult prison on Tuesday after the Department of Children and Families said that it could no longer care for the youth, who identifies as a female and has a history of assaulting staff members.
Despite having no criminal charges, the teen is now at York Correctional Institution in Niantic. She reportedly could be moved to Manson Youth Institution, an under-21 male prison, pending an evaluation.
The girl’s supporters have been using the hashtag #RethinkMalloy across social media to bring attention to this transphobic and ill-conceived move.
Obviously, this is an atrocious decision on the part of Malloy and the state Department of Children and Families. WNPR in Connecticut notes that this judgement, which was made due to the girl’s “behavioral issues”, could have been avoided, because the state now has a “locked facility for girls”. And although this should be clear to anyone who has ever researched prisons, throwing a fifteen year old transgender girl into a men’s prison – a MEN’s prison – is probably the absolute worst call anyone could ever make in a case such as this.
Shame on the Connecticut DCF, and shame on Governor Malloy.
Photo Credit – katerha/Flickr