exclusive: The Independent Women’s Forum (IWF) revealed this. trailer He shared details with Fox News Digital on Wednesday about a new documentary series that exposes the realities of incarcerating biological male and female prisoners who identify as transgender.
Titled “Cruel and Unusual Punishment: Male Takeover of Women’s Prisons,” the series explores the effects of forcing biological women to share facilities with transgender women, and interviews various insiders, prison officials, and , consisting of multiple interviews with female prisoners. Each episode is approximately 5-10 minutes long and can be watched for free on her YouTube account at IWF.
Kelsey Boller, director of storytelling at IWF, explained that the project was born out of “a desire to take a stand in this fight and be a voice for current and former female prisoners who unfortunately don’t have a voice.” .
“IWF has always stood for women, girls and their place. Our investment in the women’s prison sector is a natural part of our work to protect girls, women and their place. Unfortunately, so far there hasn’t been anything else.” Women’s organizations have been active in being advocates for female prisoners, and in some cases, in the name of tolerance and inclusion. “He has actively opposed female inmates, including lobbying for men to be put in women’s prisons,” Boller told FOX News Digital.
IWF shared the first trailer for “Cruel and Unusual Punishment: Male Takeover of a Women’s Prison” with FOX News Digital. (Independent Women’s Forum)
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She added: “If you listen to these stories, I think it becomes pretty clear that there is no tolerance or inclusivity in these policies. In fact, they actively discriminate against women.” added.
One of the stories is that of Woman II Woman founder Amie Ichikawa, who was previously incarcerated for five years at the Central California Women’s Facility in Chowchilla. While she was serving her sentence, the facility transferred to prison Richard Masbrook, a convicted rapist who identified as a trans woman and went by the name “Shelly.” .
“It was a really big blow to my mental health, to my stability. I wasn’t in the same yard or in the same cell as this person, but it showed me how indifferent and how disrespectful the state is towards women as a whole.” “The population was weakening. People on the outside thought we were crazy and that we were lying,” Ichikawa told Fox News Digital.
“That feeling never really leaves you. It’s very oppressive to know that you’re in an institution where you can’t leave and have little control over even what’s in your head. ” she emphasized.
Boller, who co-produced the series with Andrea Miu, said the first episode will feature a former female prisoner who was housed in the same cell as a transgender prisoner.
IWF interviewed current and former female prisoners and other prison insiders. (Getty Images)
“From a policy perspective, I thought I knew this, but every night women climb into the top bunk with a man in a nightgown sitting below.” It’s the little things that you think about, ‘until you actually give women the platform and the opportunity to share their stories,’ Boller said. Ta.
Both women spoke of their disappointment at the lack of support from other women’s organizations and mainstream media.
“The last few years have been really tough, hitting one wall after another. Even among my own colleagues, many of whom run organizations in the social justice field in California, I have had a hard time at one point. was an advocate for women. [prisons] I feel very abandoned,” Ichikawa said.
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Boller added: “Not only did all the women’s groups and organizations that normally support improving the lives of prisoners turn away from Emme and her attempts to shine a light on this issue, but also because of the media coverage. was completely biased,” he added.
She continued, “If you look around at the media coverage, it’s only from the perspective of a small number of transgender-identified inmates. It’s important to ask female inmates how they feel about these policies. Who would ask how being forced to share affected them?” Are you in very close proximity to biological humans? ”
Boller noted that many current and former prisoners are reluctant to talk about policy due to “fear of retaliation” by losing their chance at parole or even violence.
Even more disappointingly, Ichikawa says: 92% of female prisoners They have experienced abuse in their lives and may face sharing facilities with biologically male sex offenders.
Kazumi Ichiki spoke to FOX News Digital about her experience as a transgender inmate being taken to a California prison. (Independent Women’s Forum)
“Ninety-two percent of women incarcerated in California have been beaten, beaten, or otherwise sexually abused. They are currently housed with intact male inmates. 33.8% are registered as sex offenders. Therefore, placing women in situations that closely resemble their initial traumas, many of which led to their incarceration, is cruel and abnormal. And that’s causing a lot of complex PTSD symptoms in her that are starting to develop in the entire population,” she said.
Ichikawa continued, “Women’s self-esteem diminishes day by day just because they realize that their lives are like this. They don’t matter at all and no one cares. That’s a harsh reminder every day, no matter what.”
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IWF is planning to drop the first episode next week, with a total of five episodes in the works, but could create more as they gather more interviews.
“We feel committed to this issue, and we will tell as many stories as we need for people to listen. We’ve been working hard to show a gendered voice that has an impact,” Boller said.
