Transgender Criminology in the United States

Abstract

Conservative estimates suggest there are currently more than 12,000 individuals in American state and federal prisons identifying as transgender and gender diverse (TGD), compared to fewer than 5,000 identified in 2019. Most of these incarcerated persons do not request to be housed according to their gender. Sexual offenses are the most common types of criminal offenses for which transgender women assigned male at birth are imprisoned. This article compares current state and federal departments of corrections policies for the care and management of TGD inmates to available reports of past correctional practices. It also compares current US correctional management practices to best practices in this area as recommended by the United Nations Office and Drugs and Crime.