WoLF Executive Director Dr. Mahri Irvine, WoLF staff member Amanda Houdeschell, in addition to volunteers and other Washington state residents, testify in opposition to House Bill (HB) 1956.

If enacted, HB 1956 would risk disallowing disclosures of public records requests seeking information on male offenders housed in women's prisons. The bill could be used to prevent feminists, women's rights activists, or concerned citizens from accessing this vital information.

In her written testimony, Dr. Mahri Irvine points out that self-declared status based on one’s beliefs is not consistent with the bill’s intent to protect personal “health information.” Read her submitted written testimony in full here.

“The authors of HB1956 claim that transgender, nonbinary, or gender nonconforming status is “health information.” However, this is incorrect. Gender status (commonly referred to as gender identity) is absolutely not health information. Gender identity is a personal belief that someone holds about himself or herself, based on sex stereotypes. Gender identity is not based on science. Claiming that gender identity is a form of health information is equivalent to claiming that a person’s religious identity or political affiliation is health information.”

This was truly a volunteer-driven effort! WoLF had so many volunteers engaged in testimony on this bill. In fact, some women who signed up to testify in opposition to this bill were unable to provide oral testify due to time constraints at the hearing.

We are so grateful to each and every woman who spoke out about this bill last week through public testimony, contacting members of the committee, and contributing their expertise with Washington state's legislature. Thank you all!

WoLF & KPSS USA JOINT WRITTEN TESTIMONY

WoLF also submitted joint written testimony along with Keep Prisons Single Sex USA. An excerpt is posted below, but the full submission can be found here.

“These records are vitally important to a discussion of the public policy question regarding the State of Washington housing male inmates in the women’s prison based on “gender identity.” The safety, well-being and constitutional rights of incarcerated women and girls in Washington is at issue. Thus far, public debate on this question has been muted as changes have not come about through legislation (which would open the matter for debate and input by the public), but, rather, by policy. The public has a right to understand what has been implemented and its effects.”

Take Action!

There is still time to reach out to Washington legislators and make your voices heard here!

Your voice matters. The WoLF Team would like to thank the brave women whose public testimony underscores the urgency of joining the movement to protect the sex-based rights of women and girls!