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# Update: Californian bill passed to protect trans prison inmates
- URL: https://www.scenemag.co.uk/update-californian-bill-passed-to-protect-trans-prison-inmates/
- Published: 2020-10-06T07:08:31.000Z
- Updated: 2020-12-07T10:29:17.000Z
- Description: California Governor Gavin Newsom signed a bill on Saturday 26 September allowing transgender prison inmates to be housed according to their self-identified gender.
- Author: Rachel Badham
- Tags: News, Politics, California, Intersex, LGBTQ, Non-binary, Trans Rights, Transgender

![](https://www.scenemag.co.uk/content/images/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/o-prisons-facebook-1.jpg)

**California** Governor **Gavin Newsom** signed a bill on **Saturday 26 September** allowing transgender prison inmates to be housed according to their self-identified gender. The new legislation requires officers to ask inmates privately during the intake process if they identify as transgender, non-binary or intersex. Newsom [said](https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/newsom-signs-law-allowing-transgender-inmates-to-be-placed-in-prison-by-their-gender-identity/ar-BB19sqoj?ref=scenemag.co.uk): *“California has some of the strongest pro-LGBTQ+ laws in the nation and with the bills signed today, our march toward equality takes an additional step forward”.*

The [bill](https://www.scenemag.co.uk/bill-proposed-to-protect-trans-women-in-californian-prisons/) was proposed at the beginning of September by California state senator **Scott Weiner** after a trans woman named **Fancy Lipsey** sued the state, saying she was attacked by another inmate for refusing his demands for intercourse. She was reportedly told by prison guards to handle the assault ‘like a man’. In addition, **[ABC News](https://news.yahoo.com/few-transgender-prisoners-housed-according-141200068.html?ref=scenemag.co.uk)** reported that out of nearly 5,000 transgender prisoners in the US, only 15 were housed in line with their gender identity.

![](https://www.scenemag.co.uk/content/images/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/jasmine-jones-1.jpg)

Jasmine Jones is hoping that the new bill will bring a greater level of protection for trans inmates

Ex-inmate **Jasmine Jones**, of the **Transgender, Gender-Variant & Intersex Justice Project** says she is ‘not going to forget’ about trans women who are still in prison and hopes the new bill will be a ‘lifeline’ for them. Similar laws protecting trans inmates exist in **Rhode Island**, **New York** **City** and **Massachusetts**, however no other US jurisdictions have such rulings.