No Pride in Prisons will be hosting a rally this Friday in Auckland to mark the International Day of Trans Prisoner Solidarity. The rally will feature keys speakers from both No Pride in Prisons and other organisations which will discuss the reality faced by trans prisoners in New Zealand. Emmy Rākete of No Pride in Prisons says “A rally is important in showing solidarity with trans prisoners only insofar as it is used to make concrete demands.” The group will be making four demands on Friday; “In every instance where detention is not mandatory, for trans people not to be sentenced to imprisonment.” “For trans people to be sent to the facility of their choosing upon uptake.” “An end to the double-bunking policies introduced from 2009-2011”, and “For the Department of Corrections to apologise and take responsibility for the violence incarcerated trans women are facing in New Zealand prisons.” Rākete says, “The state of trans prisoners’ rights and safety is no better in New Zealand than it is internationally. The policy in this country is that a person will be placed in a facility matching the gender marked on their birth certificate. She says although it is a common policy, “For transgender women with no choice but to be placed in male facilities, the policy is incredibly dangerous. “Transgender women in men’s prisons face thirteen times the risk of sexual assault than the general population. This is why we are demanding that in every instance where detention is not mandatory, for trans people not to be sentenced to imprisonment.” A policy was introduced in New Zealand in 2014 allowing incarcerated transgender and intersex people to apply for transfer to a facility better suiting their gender. “This process has been proved to be thoroughly inadequate by the loss of transfer requests,” says Rākete. The rally will take place on the corner of Wakefield Street and Queen Street at 5pm on Friday.
Credit: GayNZ.com Daily News staff
First published: Tuesday, 19th January 2016 - 6:37pm