New Jersey will require prisons in the Garden State to house inmates based on their self-declared gender identity instead of biological sex as part of a settlement of a lawsuit filed by a trans-identified male prisoner.
As a result of the settlement in Sonia Doe v. New Jersey Department of Corrections, et al,the NJDOC will allow trans, intersex and non-binary prisoners to be housed in prisons that correspond with the opposite biological sex.
Reports indicate that Doe was incarcerated in men’s prisons for over 18 months, claims to have been denied female commissary items, and was “misgendered” by correctional officers. Doe was transferred to the Edna Mahan Correctional Facility for Women soon after the complaint was filed in August 2019 by the American Civil Liberties Union of New Jersey.
“Defendant New Jersey Department of Corrections has adopted and agrees to maintain in
good faith policies, procedures, and practices that ensure the health, safety, and dignity of
transgender, intersex, and non-binary inmates in its custody, including ensuring inmates’ ability to live in line with their gender identity,” the settlement agreement reads.
The department is also paying $45,000 in Doe’s attorney fees and $125,000 in damages as part of the settlement. ACLU-NJ Staff Attorney Tess Borden said the settlement “puts in place systemic, far-reaching policy changes to recognize and respect the gender identity of people in prison” by providing “housing based on gender identity, use of appropriate pronouns, [and] access to the gender-affirming property.” CONTINUE
