September v. Subramoney and its Implications for Transgender Persons in South Africa

This article discusses the case of September v. Subramoney heard in 2019 in the Equality Court. Following a discussion of the case, the article examines the implications of this case for future jurisprudence with reference to the use of non-binding international law in South African litigation, the implications this case has for other transgender inmates as well as its implications for other state institutions, for example the principle of reasonable accommodation in so far as it applies to transgender persons, the recognition of gender identity as an analogous ground in discrimination law, and the endurance of the binary model of gender identification in South Africa.

Legal Battles: Transgender Inmates’ Rights

Challenging binary gender norms and common conceptions of the differences between sexes, transgender individuals are misunderstood, feared, and often subjected to stigma. As a result, transgender individuals are exposed to harassment, violence, and employment discrimination. The negative outcomes of this exposure include poverty, unemployment, trauma, homelessness, arrest, and/or incarceration. Within the correctional system, stigmatization is heightened, leading to grave consequences for transgender inmates. The goal of this article is to highlight these outcomes, as illustrated from legal case histories, and to suggest best practice recommendations for correctional system improvements in ensuring the rights of transgender inmates.

TREATMENT OF TRANSGENDER CHARACTERS IN CLASS IIA RESIDENTIAL INSTITUTIONS SUMBAWA BESAR

This research focuses on implementation, benefits, and to find out the problems faced in the treatment of prisoners with a transgender character. In this study raised the issue of how the officers and other prisoners treat transgender inmates in Penitentiary and how they affect the health, safety, and psychological well-being of transgender inmates in the Sumbawa Besar Class IIA Penitentiary. This study uses interview and observation research methods, which describe the treatment of prisoners with a transgender character, then analyzed and concluded using a qualitative approach. Based on the analysis, it was found that the treatment of transgender inmates was considered very necessary to be carried out. Prisoners with transgender characteristics are prisoners who are unique and different from prisoners in general. Generally, prisoners with the transgender character who are spread across prisons throughout Indonesia are men whose gender is women or better known as transvestites. Prisoners with a transgender character are very vulnerable to adverse treatment by other prisoners, and can also have a negative influence on other prisoners. Special treatment of prisoners with transgender character is deemed very necessary, starting from the placement in individual blocks to specific guidance for transgender inmates. There are obstacles encountered in its implementation, including the procurement of individual blocks of prisoners with transgender character and the understanding of Correctional Officers of the problems and irregularities that will be caused by the presence of transgender inmates in prison.

Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender inmates

The lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) population has been, and remains, disenfranchised in many ways. Despite increasing acceptance of sexual orientation, evidenced by recent strides in legalizing gay marriage in several states, LGBT people continue to have a higher prevalence of mental illness due to minority stress than heterosexuals. Factors such as stigma, prejudice, and discrimination lead to increased incidence of mental suffering as a result of stressful, hostile, and often unsafe environments. Prejudice within the LGBT community around race, gender, disability, or mental illness also exists. Transgender individuals have a high risk of being targeted for violence and hate crimes, harassment and discrimination, unemployment and underemployment, poverty, homelessness, substance abuse, suicide, and self-harm. The stressors that LGBT individuals face likely contribute to their disproportionate risk of contact with the criminal justice system beginning in adolescence and extending into adulthood. Transgender individuals in particular have a risk for incarceration, for reasons ranging from imprisonment based on gender identity expression alone to the need to earn money through the underground economy due to difficulty finding employment. In addition to homophobia and transphobia, LGBT individuals with mental illness experience further stigmatization. Clinicians need to understand the multiple stigmas that may affect an individual’s willingness to seek mental health care. The unique needs of incarcerated LGBT individuals with mental illness are often invisible, and generally misunderstood and underserved. This chapter seeks to add to the clinical knowledge of practitioners working with this population, to clarify legal precedent, and to establish best practices.