>From: ww@blythe.org (Workers World Service)
>Date: Tue, 28 Dec 93 14:13:40 EST
Via NY Transfer News Collective * All the News that Doesn't Fit


'STOP TERROR AGAINST TRANSGENDERED PRISONERS'

By Kaz Susat
Seattle

Family, friends and supporters of a transsexual prisoner at Walla
Walla State Penitentiary gathered to protest at the Washington
state capitol building in Olympia Dec. 7. They demanded an end to
prison terror against transgendered inmates, and medical care for
transsexual prisoners.

Humane Treatment for People, an organization committed to
securing basic rights for transgendered prisoners, called the
demonstration.

The rally centered on the case of Sarah, a transsexual prisoner.
Because of the prison authorities' terror campaign against her,
she has asked that her last name not be made public.

Sarah is in prison as a result of a witch-hunt atmosphere against
gays and transgendered people that surrounded passage of
Washington state's Sex Offender Bill.

The law is ostensibly meant to protect women and children from
violence and sexual abuse. But in practice it has been used as a
reactionary measure of repression against the lesbian, gay and
transgendered communities.

Repeated studies have shown that the vast majority--well over 90
percent--of those who sexually abuse children are heterosexual men,
usually family members or acquaintances. But prosecutions under
Washington's law have not reflected this.

Instead, the police and courts have tried to create a hysteria
against gays and transsexuals, portraying them as monsters who
prey on children.

The Sex Offender Bill also requires convicted child molesters to
register with police after they leave prison. It even allows for
keeping people locked up after their sentence is over if the
prison authorities deem them a "threat."

Thus, people who may have been innocent victims railroaded into
prison on a wave of anti-gay panic continue to be targets of
repression even after they get out of prison.

The issue is discrimination.

Sarah is one of the victims. She was charged with sexually
assaulting children. Supporters say her case was rushed through
trial and she never had a real chance to defend herself.

"Sarah's in prison because she is transgendered," her mother told
Workers World. The myth of lesbian, gay and transgendered people
as child abusers, combined with media hysteria on the issue, sent
Sarah to jail.

Since being locked up she has been subjected to countless acts of
terror, including threats to her life, by prison authorities. She
has also been denied medical treatment and hormone therapy.

The state has also threatened retaliation against Sarah if her
family and supporters continue to struggle on her behalf.

But Ava King, Sarah's partner and founder of Humane Treatment for
People, says: "We are not giving up. The Department of
Corrections is participating in cruel and unusual punishment of
transgendered prisoners.

"We will keep fighting them until they stop."

The group is demanding that Sarah get a new trial. Members plan
to hold another demonstration in late January.

                               -30-

(Copyright Workers World Service: Permission to reprint granted
if source is cited. For more information contact Workers World,
55 West 17 St., New York, NY 10011; via e-mail: ww@blythe.org.)



+ OPEN HOUSE!      NY TRANSFER NEWS COLLECTIVE      FREE ACCESS! +
+ December'93        e-mail: nyt@blythe.org          December'93 +
+ 212-675-9690        info: info@blythe.org         212-675-9663 +