Women's group highlights the risks posed by transgender inmates in blue states.

A study warns that male inmates who identify as female pose risks to biological women in female-only prisons.

Independent Women's report, released on Thursday and shared exclusively with Planet Chronicle Digital, reveals that male inmates who identify as women are more likely to have committed sexual offenses, and incarcerated women face increased risks of harassment and assault under these policies.

"The report highlights the risks of placing trans-identifying males with fully intact male genitalia or a history of violent sex crimes in close quarters with female inmates, which can lead to a serious deprivation of their rights. Despite this known risk, the report states that these risks are being deliberately ignored in favor of laws and policies that marginalize incarcerated women and silence concerns about their safety."

Amie Ichikawa, who was convicted of making terroristic threats with a gun and spent five years in a California state prison, now advocates for female inmates concerned about being housed with biological males after her release.

"According to Ichikawa, the laws are based on self-identification, and the only requirement is for someone to declare that they are a female. As such, denials based on physical attributes, such as retention of a penis, are not permitted. Additionally, criminal history cannot be used as a basis for denying someone a transfer."

Inmates who identify as female frequently appear before a review board to argue that sex-based prisons violate Equal Protection laws or claim they are being discriminated against on the basis of sex.

According to the Independent Women report, transgender inmates who are biological males will argue that their housing conditions in male-only prisons violate the Eighth Amendment's prohibition against cruel and unusual punishment.

In four states, biological male inmates who identify as female can be housed in female-only prisons.

The states that have a policy of allowing men in women's prisons are California, Connecticut, Maine, and New Jersey. Two states, Utah and Louisiana, have a policy that prohibits men in women's prisons, while all other states operate on a case-by-case basis.

The BOP reported that as of October 2024, 1,487 men who identify as women were incarcerated in federal prisons, although not all of them are housed in female prisons.

According to the Independent Women report, nearly half of trans-identifying male prisoners have sex convictions, compared to less than 12% of the general male prison population nationwide, as cited in BOP statistics.

May Mailman, legal director at Independent Women, stated that women should not be placed in locked prisons with violent criminal males, regardless of the year of the presidential campaign or the candidate's stance on trans-identifying men in women's prisons.

"She was incorrect. The book 'Cruel and Unusual Punishment: Stopping the Dangerous Policies Putting Men in Women's Prisons' emphasizes that policy leaders possess the power to safeguard women and maintain sanity. This is a crucial read for politicians and their staff seeking to combat the harmful effects of gender ideology."

Advocates for transgender policy argue that housing female-identifying inmates in female-only prisons provides a safer environment for them, as transgender women are at risk of sexual abuse in male-only prisons.

"Transgender individuals in prisons and jails are frequently subjected to abusive conditions, including denial of medical care, extended solitary confinement, and harassment, sexual assault, and violence from guards and other inmates, according to the Transgender Law Center. Research indicates that transgender women are 13 times more likely to experience sexual assault in prison compared to others."

Transgender inmates who are biologically male have also sexually abused female inmates, and they feel their concerns are not being addressed.

Dana Gray, a female inmate, claimed she was sexually assaulted by a physically intact transgender woman in January 2023, according to Independent Women.

Gray exclaimed, "It was horrifying and repulsive; I knew I had no power to act."

"This is a perfect Trojan horse into the biggest victim pool anyone could ever hope and dream of." — Amie Ichikawa

"Ichikawa stated that the trans community has been exploited as a safe haven for mentally unstable sex offenders, who use it as a Trojan horse to target the largest victim pool possible. Trans women in men's prisons, whom I have spoken to, are appalled by the people who are being transferred to female prisons and have no interest in this."

Some women experience traumatic events when they are housed in female-only prisons alongside transgender inmates.

According to the report, Alissa Kamholz, a child sex trafficking survivor, was forced to share a cell with a man who identified as female and was linked to the same gang as her childhood abusers.

Ichikawa believes that some men who identify as female do so in order to manipulate the system and gain more power by being sent to a women's prison.

Across the country, lawsuits and jarring news headlines have been triggered by the topic of housing transgender inmates in female-only prisons.

In 2020, a man pretending to be a transgender woman in Riker's Island prison allegedly raped a female inmate, as stated in a lawsuit filed by the victim. Additionally, Tremaine Deon Carroll, a biological male inmate who identifies as female, was charged with two counts of forcible rape and one of "dissuading a witness from testifying" after an alleged attack on a woman at Central California Women's Facility, according to a criminal complaint obtained by 4W and later reported by Reduxx.

In 2022, Demi Minor, a transgender inmate from New Jersey, impregnated two female inmates. Moore, who was later transferred out of the female-only prison, expressed fear in an interview with NJ.com. Last year, an Indiana judge ruled that a biological male convicted of killing a baby could receive state-funded transgender surgery.

Hannah Tubbs, a transgender inmate from California, was convicted of molesting a young girl in a Denny's bathroom at the age of 17 in 2017. Under former District Attorney George Gascon's guidelines for juvenile suspects, Tubbs, who was 26 at the time of trial, received a lenient sentence of two years in a juvenile facility for girls because the offense occurred just days before Tubbs' 18th birthday.

In November 2023, Tubbs pleaded guilty to manslaughter and lesser charges in exchange for a 15-year prison sentence, after being charged in Kern County with first-degree murder, threatening a witness, robbery, and assault before completing the sentence.

The documentary series "Cruel & Unusual Punishment: The Male Takeover of Female Prisons" by IWF highlights tales of mistreatment and retaliation against women who speak out about the problem.

The IWF report recommends solutions such as modifying the Prison Rape Elimination Act to prevent gender identity-based transfers to women's prisons, clarifying that the Americans with Disabilities Act does not mandate 'transition' services or mixed-sex housing, safeguarding female inmates' right to report abuse without retaliation, eliminating reliance on activist medical guidelines, and linking federal prison funding to policies that prioritize the safety of female inmates.