1,000 signatures reached
To: Australia's Ministers for Corrections
Marjorie's Law: Better Protection for Transgender People in Prisons
Across Australia, transgender people are being misgendered and incorrectly housed in prison. Transgender people are not being afforded safety in prison and as a result, are being sexually and physically assaulted and killed.
Marjorie's Law advocates for:
- transgender people to be treated without discrimination in Australia's prison services;
- correctional staff to be provided with training relating to LGBTQIA+ people;
- prison policies to be adhered to which allow transgender people to be housed according to their gender identity.
Why is this important?
TW: Sexual assault & R*pe.
Marjorie's Law is a campaign for better recognition and protection of transgender people in Australia's prison services.
In July 2017, Marjorie Harwood, a transgender woman, was brutally raped by five men in Risdon Prison, Tasmania. The severity of the assault saw her hospitalised and needing to use a colostomy bag. In 2018, Marjorie was hospitalised again for a kidney-related illness. With a period of custody in Risdon looming, she refused medical treatment and accepted death rather than going back to prison where she knew she would be beaten and sexually assaulted again. Marjorie identified as a woman, prison staff referred to her with female pronouns, yet she was not placed in the female prison where she would have been able to safely serve her prison sentence.
Transgender prisoners deserve to serve their sentences safe from abuse and assault. It is time for change so no one has to go through what Marjorie faced.