Oregon Must Reassess Transgender Women’s Prison Housing After Federal Ruling
A federal judge has ordered Oregon prison officials to reassess how transgender women are housed, ruling that the state likely violated constitutional protections by defaulting toward placing them in men’s facilities.
U.S. Magistrate Judge Mark D. Clarke granted a preliminary injunction in a class-action case brought on behalf of transgender women in Oregon Department of Corrections custody. The order says more than 90% of transgender women in Oregon prisons are housed in men’s facilities and found that the record showed a high risk of violence and sexual assault.
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The ruling requires ODOC to begin individualized reassessments with a presumption toward gender-consistent placement. It does not require every transgender woman to be moved to a women’s prison, but it requires safer, non-punitive alternatives when placement at Coffee Creek is not appropriate.
The order adds Oregon to a growing national fight over transgender rights, prison safety, and Trump administration policy.
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