Where do incarcerated trans women prefer to be housed and why? Adding nuanced understandings to a complex debate through the voices of formerly incarcerated trans women in Australia and the United States

Annette Brömdal; Tait Sanders; Melinda Stanners; Carol du Plessis; Jessica Gildersleeve; Amy B Mullens; Tania M Phillips; Joseph Debattista; Kirstie Daken; Kirsty A Clark; Jaclyn M W Hughto

doi:10.1080/26895269.2023.2280167

Where do incarcerated trans women prefer to be housed and why? Adding nuanced understandings to a complex debate through the voices of formerly incarcerated trans women in Australia and the United States

Int J Transgend Health. 2023 Nov 14;25(2):167-186. doi: 10.1080/26895269.2023.2280167. eCollection 2024.

Authors

Affiliations

¹ School of Education, Centre for Health Research, Institute for Resilient Regions, University of Southern Queensland, Toowoomba, Queensland, Australia.
² School of Psychology and Wellbeing, Centre for Health Research, Institute for Resilient Regions, University of Southern Queensland, Ipswich, Queensland, Australia.
³ School of Humanities and Communication, Centre for Health Research, Institute for Resilient Regions, University of Southern Queensland, Toowoomba, Queensland, Australia.
⁴ School of Psychology and Counselling, Faculty of Health, Queensland University of Technology, Kelvin Grove, Queensland, Australia.
⁵ Metro North Public Health Unit, Metro North Hospital & Health Service, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia.
⁶ Department of Medicine, Health & Society, Institute for Public Policy Studies, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tennessee, USA.
⁷ Departments of Behavioral and Social Sciences and Epidemiology, Brown School of Public Health, Centre for Health Equity Research, Brown University, Providence, RI, USA.

Abstract

Background: Incarcerated trans women experience significant victimization, mistreatment, barriers to gender-affirming care, and human rights violations, conferring high risk for trauma, psychological distress, self-harm, and suicide. Across the globe, most carceral settings are segregated by sex assigned at birth and governed by housing policies that restrict gender expression-elevating 'safety and security' above the housing preferences of incarcerated people.

Aim/methods: Drawing upon the lived experiences of 24 formerly incarcerated trans women in Australia and the United States and employing Elizabeth Freeman's notion of chrononormativity, Rae Rosenberg's concept of heteronormative time, and Kadji Amin's use of queer temporality, this paper explores trans women's carceral housing preferences and contextual experiences, including how housing preferences challenge governing chrononormative and reformist carceral housing systems.

Findings: Participants freely discussed their perspectives regarding housing options which through thematic analysis generated four options for housing: 1) men's carceral settings; 2) women's carceral settings; 3) trans- and gay-specific housing blocks; and 4) being housed in protective custody or other settings. There appeared to be a relationship between the number of times the person had been incarcerated, the duration of their incarceration, and where they preferred to be housed.

Conclusions: This analysis contributes to richer understandings regarding trans women's experiences while incarcerated. This paper also informs the complexities and nuances surrounding housing preferences from the perspectives of trans women themselves and considers possible opportunities to enhance human rights, health and wellbeing when engaging in transformative approaches to incarceration.

Keywords: Australia; United States; chrononormativity; housing preference; incarceration; queer temporality; trans women.

Grants and funding

This work was supported by the HIV Foundation Queensland with the first author as the lead investigator [Project ID 2017-20, 2017] and the Yale Fund for Gay and Lesbian Studies with the last author as the lead investigator [2015]. This work was also supported by the University of Southern Queensland through an Internal Research Capacity Grant with the first author as the lead investigator [Project ID 1007573, 2020].