Over 50 percent of male inmates who identify as women held at the Wisconsin Department of Corrections have been convicted of sex crimes, according to a study from the Heritage Foundation’s Oversight Project.
Prison records obtained by the Oversight Project (pdf) show that 81 of the 161 male inmates claiming to be transgender have been convicted of at least one count of sexual assault or sexual abuse.
But the actual number could be higher since the numbers don’t reflect all people with a sex offense conviction, only those convicted of sexual abuse or sexual assault. The figures also exclude people who had juvenile sex offense convictions.
‘Prison Is For Punishment’
While the data does not indicate how many males identifying as females had applied to be housed at a female-only facility, it does show that none of the transgender-identifying men had been charged with sexual assault or sexual abuse while in prison.
“Men belong with men and men only in prison,” Mike Howell, director of the Oversight Project, told the Daily Signal.
“Putting sex offender men claiming to be women in cells with women is another reason the world laughs at America’s moral decline,” Mr. Howell continued. “Prison is for punishment, not degenerate sexual behavior.”
The Epoch Times has reached out to the Wisconsin Department of Corrections with a request for clarification on how many transgender-identifying males were housed in female facilities and what measures were in place to protect female inmates. No reply was received by the time of publication of this report.
However, the Wisconsin Department of Corrections’ policy on transgender inmates (pdf) states that its institutions “shall provide appropriate treatment and accommodations for inmates who are transgender” or who meet the criteria for gender dysphoria or who have a medical intersex condition.
The policy also clarifies that facility housing assignments for such inmates are to be made on a “case-by-case basis, considering the inmate’s health and safety as well as potential programming, management and security concerns,” with an inmate’s own views on safety to be given “careful consideration.”
By Tom Ozimek
