Mon 1 Aug 2016 In: Our Communities View at Wayback View at NDHA
We chat to Sophie, one of the people behind the new initiative that’s pairing LGBTI inmates with people from the LGBTI community on the outside. How did the idea for this first come about? The welfare of incarcerated takatāpui, queer, trans, and intersex people is a major concern, and more people have been talking about it than ever before because of the controversy about uniformed police and prison guards marching at Pride, and the work No Pride in Prisons has done. A lot of people have been asking “What can we do?” Some of us wrote to incarcerated queer and trans people, and found that they were stoked to hear from us. We decided to start up a network and try to get a pen pal for every LGBTIQ person in prison who wants one, modeled on the Prisoner Correspondence Project (PCP) in Montreal. We’ve called it the Prisoner Correspondence Network (PCN) and we’ve just launched this week. Who is behind the Prisoner Correspondence Network? PCN is run collectively by LGBTIQ volunteers. Anyone who gets in touch and gets stuck in even just a little is part of it. We're actively recruiting non-incarcerated pen pals from the community right now. Why is it so important for prisoners to connect with the queer and trans community on the outside? There's a great Angela Davis quote: "Prisons do not disappear social problems, they disappear human beings. Homelessness, unemployment, drug addiction, mental illness, and illiteracy are only a few of the problems that disappear from public view when the human beings contending with them are relegated to cages." When people get out of prison they're still going to be contending with the same problems they were when they went in, magnified by having been isolated from community for a long stretch of time and stamped with a criminal record. Those who end up in prison tend to be the most marginalised of us, and the most in need of community, both to get through the experience of prison and to successfully reintegrate into society on release. We’re hoping that the connections people build through this network will help to offset the isolation of incarceration, and maybe even serve as part of their bridge out of the prison system. What kinds of things can people write to prisoners about and what will be off limits? Three things you can't send your pal in prison are: a copy of 50 Shades of Grey; a dick pic; or a bumblebee sweater. That's due to the ban on sexually violent or degrading material, the ban on porn depicting genitalia, and the ban on gang colours or motifs, respectively. The prison mail and property rules are strict and conservative. But so far we've gotten several shirtless Justin Bieber posters through, so there's wiggle room. When people sign up to our mailing list they get a copy of our Correspondence Guide, which outlines the dos and don'ts as far as we can gather. What do people need to remember when writing to those on the inside? People writing in to prison need to keep a lot of things in mind, but it pretty much just boils down to: kindness, caution, boundaries, and power. This is also a chance for prisoners to practice their writing skills, is it common for queer and trans prisoners to have no correspondence while inside? From what we've been told by our correspondents inside, it is common for a lot of trans and queer prisoners not to get any letters, or have any to send. We're aiming to totally reverse that trend. As well as being a source of social support, for the 90% of prisoners with low literacy levels, writing letters is a good chance to practice vocabulary and gain confidence with the written word. There are some community organisations working with people in prisons to lift their literacy, like the Howard League, and we believe our pen pal programme is a good supplement to that. At the very least, writing and receiving the letters should be a source of entertainment. Is it common for prisoners to suffer from isolation and loneliness and what makes queer and trans prisoners more vulnerable? We know that New Zealand prisons are violent places. Homophobia and transphobia are an issue no matter where you go, but especially when you literally can't escape the situation. Trans women are particularly vulnerable because they get sent to "men's" prisons unless they have managed to change their birth certificate, and only later can they apply to be moved to a prison with others of their gender. We know from what trans women inside have told us and from incidents that have made the news that this is a bad situation. People can choose to go into voluntary segregation if they don't feel safe in the general prison population, as 2,169 people did last year. This might protect them to a degree but also increases their isolation, which can lead to all kinds of other issues. The mail gets delivered just the same to both the general prison and seg; we checked. So even if a person isn’t leaving their cell or talking to anyone for their own safety, they can still talk to us, free from homophobia or transphobia or judgement. And that’s not nothing. How will this improve life for the prisoners? It’s early days, but we're hoping the network will help people to build those simple human connections that are the basis of friendships and social support. People inside will be able to share and receive information, advice, resources, and stories. They’ll get a conduit to the outside, and even to the inside, since inmates can correspond and we’ve put a few in touch with each other already. They can ask for advocacy or cat pictures or the latest Shortland Street spoilers. Sometimes the simplest stuff has a big impact. Any interested free or incarcerated queer people can contact the Prisoner Correspondence Network for more information at pcnaotearoa@gmail.com or PCN / PO Box 5870 / Wellesley St / Auckland 1141. Check out their Facebook page here. - 1st August 2016