‘Prison deprives me of identity’
Jailed as male, she goes to Equality Court
A TRANSGENDER woman incarcerated in a male prison will turn to the Equality Court in a bid to have officials ordered to allow her to dress as a woman.
Jade September attempted to commit suicide last December after she was allegedly treated badly on several occasions where her personal items were confiscated, and was forced to cut off her braided hair which for her, is a marker of her feminine identity.
Lawyers for Human Rights said it would argue that the prison system had “singled her out, harassed, and unfairly discriminated against her for expressing her gender identity”.
The matter will be heard at the Western Cape High Court, sitting as an Equality Court on November 26.
Her attorney Sanja Bornman said: “Ms September is a transgender woman who is currently serving a 15-year prison sentence inside a facility for men. As is often the case for transgender people in SA, she never had an opportunity to change the gender marker in her ID, nor has she ever had access to gender-affirming health care. For these reasons, she is incarcerated as a man.”
The organisation said the treatment September received in more than one prison facility had traumatised her and caused considerable damage to her mental health, resulting in the suicide attempt.
In her papers, September said: “(The treatment by the prison officials) caused me to feel extremely demeaned and deprived of my identity.
“My gender expression is something I have had to constantly struggle to achieve and maintain throughout my life… It is the only way I can express a vitally important component of my identity, which is my gender.”
Her lawyers said while incarcerated, prison officials denied September the right to “express her gender” through her hairstyle, dress, and use of small amounts of make-up.
“She has also been subject to verbal abuse and harassment from prison officials, and at one stage placed in segregated confinement after trying to express her gender,” Bornman said.
“The first questions are always, ‘why is she not simply transferred to a women’s prison’ and ‘is it not dangerous for her to look like a woman in a men’s facility?’
“The truth is, because Ms September has never had access to genderaffirming health care, she is likely to stand out even more, and be at greater risk of victimisation and violence in a woman’s prison. For this reason, it is the duty of state to accommodate her where she currently is, in accordance with the principle of substantive equality – that is, equality in outcomes.
“Because there are no separate prisons for transgender or gender non-conforming people. In fact, as far as prison laws and policies are concerned, transgender people simply do not exist. This is unacceptable.”