The report provides a never-before-seen glimpse into the widespread harm caused to LGBTQ+ people and those living with HIV through their interactions with these institutions. Notably, for the first time, the report includes participation from community members who were detained in jails and prisons across the United States. People in detention accounted for 16.5% of participants or roughly 1 in every 6 participants. A special additional report called the Spotlight Report: Detained Participants, takes a deeper look at the experiences of these participants.
The report highlights several disturbing findings. For instance, half of all participants who had engaged in sex work experienced police misconduct, with the most commonly reported forms being the police taking their money (26%) or demanding sex in exchange for not arresting them (18%). Abuse in detention is also a norm, with an overwhelming majority (94.3%) of detained participants reporting experiencing abuse in prisons and jails. Nearly two-thirds of those in detention experienced a two-week or longer interruption of their medication routine, including hormone replacement therapy, antiretrovirals, heart medications, and psychotropic medications.
Additionally, the report found that in the courts, transgender participants of color were more likely to have their transgender status inappropriately revealed than white trans participants. Low trust in government institutions was also noted, with participants who had face-to-face encounters with police in the past five years being less likely to trust the police than those who did not.
The report lays out a series of recommendations for individuals, advocates, and policymakers, as well as those working in the criminal legal system, to help address these issues. These include supporting trans, gender nonconforming, and nonbinary-led movements, court reform efforts, decriminalizing sex work and HIV, eliminating barriers to legal recourse for people in detention, working to keep LGBTQ+ young people safe in schools, and banning profiling and other discriminatory law enforcement practices.
The Protected and Served? report is a critical tool for understanding the pervasive harms and injustices faced by incarcerated LGBTQ+ people, said Black and Pink National Executive Director Dr. Tatyana Moaton. The report's findings and recommendations will inform and support new research, advocacy, litigation, and policy efforts to address the discrimination and abuse experienced by LGBTQ+ people and those living with HIV in the criminal legal system and increase accountability throughout the criminal legal system.
Senior Attorney and Protected and Served? Project Manager Richard Saenz said, "Everyone who interacts with the criminal legal system, including LGBTQ+ people and those living with HIV, must be treated fairly, and their legal rights must be protected. It is urgent and imperative that we address the root causes and devastating consequences of the obscene levels of abuse, discrimination, and misconduct reported throughout the criminal legal system – and hold those responsible accountable. We hope this report is an additional resource for community members, policymakers, and advocates."
