What are we really doing to protect our community?

*Featured image credited to the Kingston Penitentiary

If you’ve watched any shows or movies about prison in the last couple years you’ve probably heard the phrases like gay for the stay. In fact, the phrase gay for the stay was used a lot in Piper Kerman’s book Orange is The New Black. Reading that got me thinking about the lived experiences of LGBTQ+ folks inside prison walls. 

In several parts of the United States, trans people who have been prosecuted will be sent to a prison that matches the gender they were assigned at birth, rather than the gender they are. This can cause serious safety concerns for the inmates in question. In prison, accessing HRT is incredibly difficult, causing a lot of health issues for the people who need those medications and have already been on the medications for any amount of time. 

According to the Ontario government website, Ontario prides itself on trans inclusion, stating “Ontario is a national leader in strengthening human rights and individual freedoms by recognizing and protecting gender expression and gender identity in the Ontario Human Rights Code”. My question is- is it really possible for Doug Ford to prioritize these things while also actively making as many cuts to healthcare as possible AND while implementing the Safer Ontario Program? What are they actually doing to protect trans people in prison beyond acknowledging their gender identity? Are LGBTQ+ folks actually protected from transphobia and homophobia behind bars? Or, like everyone else who gets incarcerated, are they going to be put into an institution that traumatizes them and leaves them without the proper tools to deal with their trauma?

People in the LGBTQ+ community often face violence, abuse and assault while incarcerated. Ontario may claim to be a leader in human rights, but saying that is a contradiction while we are still putting people in prison. True human rights come from actual social services that prevent the need for prison at all.

Doug Ford, do better.

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