Take Action! Washington Bill Would Cover Up How Many Men Are Housed in Women’s Prisons
HB1956 would cover up important information about trans-identified men housed in Washington women’s prisons. Fill out the form below to urge Washington lawmakers to vote NO.
HB1956 Background
In April of last year, the ACLU sued to prevent a private citizen from accessing public records that would prove that men were being housed in Washington women’s prisons based on their self-declared “gender identity.” The private citizen, Andrea Kelly, had requested documents pertaining to the number of inmates transferred from a men’s facility to a women’s facility, without any personally identifiable information. WoLF represented Ms. Kelly’s interests in this matter.
These requests were a result of whistle-blower reports from local radio station KIRO-FM about a male sex offender who had raped a disabled female inmate upon being transferred. The ACLU of Washington and Disability Rights Washington filed a lawsuit to prevent this information from being released to her or any member of the public. It is unclear why a disability rights group was seeking to protect a rapist instead of a disabled rape victim.
The judge, in this case, denied Ms. Kelly’s motion to intervene, but not before Ms. Kelly received critical information from the Department of Corrections as part of the DOC’s court filings in this lawsuit, which corroborated the initial whistleblower’s report.
The responsive documents also revealed that the total number of male persons who identify as female, non-binary, or any other gender identity that were housed in a women’s facility at the time of the case was seven. The DOC records also confirmed that there were prison infraction records and PREA (Prison Rape Elimination Act) records against several men housed in women’s prisons, including 309 pages of infraction records for a particular male inmate.
Last month, the Washington House introduced HB1956, which prohibits the following information about inmates to be released to the public: “transgender, intersex, nonbinary, or gender nonconforming status; sexual orientation; genital anatomy; or gender-affirming care or accommodations other than an incarcerated individual's preferred name, pronouns, and gender marker.”
If this bill passes, the public will no longer be able to find out how many men are housed in women’s prisons in Washington, how many of these men still have their penises, and whether they are committing violent acts against the women they are locked up with.
Ethan Frenchman, staff attorney at Disability Rights Washington, testified in support of HB1956 and referred to WoLF in his testimony as an “anti-trans hate group” when discussing Ms. Kelly’s public records request last year. This is disheartening, but unsurprising, given their efforts to protect male rapists at the expense of their female victims.
HB1956 is supported by the ACLU of Washington, the Coalition Ending Gender-Based Violence, Washington Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, Planned Parenthood Alliance Advocates - Washington, Washington Black Lives Matter Alliance, and several dozen other organizations and individuals.
WoLF is fighting on the front lines to keep men out of women’s prisons, but our ability to do so is significantly hindered when this information is kept from the public.
TAKE ACTION! VOTE NO TO HB1956!
Are you a Washington resident interested in submitting written or virtual oral testimony in opposition to this dangerous bill? Send an email to volunteer@womensliberationfront.org to be notified of upcoming testimony opportunities. We will support you throughout the process.