“You are Sacrificing Our Safety Just to Keep a Few Men Quiet”
I do not agree with Senate Bill 132 that was written by Senator Scott Weiner, and signed by Governor Newsom, that says the bill will support the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation’s Efforts to provide a safe, humane, respectful and rehabilitative environment for the incarcerated transgender, non-binary and intersex community.
What about the women? What about us? Since this directly affects us and endangers us both mentally and physically, why weren’t we a part of this decision? Why do Senator Weiner and CDCR Secretary Ralph Diaz and the trans, non-binary and intersex community think that our rights to serve out sentences in a safe environment are not relevant?
In my opinion, as an inmate and a sexual abuse survivor, this is the most terrifying mistake made by people with power. They made an irrational, inconsiderate, malicious bill to please men who feel they have a right to be housed with women because they consider themselves a woman even with male genitals intact.
All of our self-help programs are passed by CDCR secretary before they actually are offered and they are kept only if progress is made. So some kind of reviews are made. The progress is made only by us strong women ready to face our pain and sexual assault—it’s a saddened topic commonly spoken of. These people know this and still chose to pass SB132.
This is the most malicious way to tell an abused woman what we went through wasn’t important. That despite our trauma we will be forced to live, shower, and coexist with our pain by bringing men into our only way of living safe to be able to rehabilitate.
Tell me how is that in any way humane. It’s not. You are sacrificing our safety just to keep a few men quiet. I am disgusted by the actions of those in power of SB 132. I hope this letter reaches a honestly caring hand.