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LGBTQI Access to legal rights Justice
Analysis Report

LGBTI people deprived of their freedom: ring the warning bell

LGTBI people are victims of physical and verbal assaults. Imprisonment exposes them to more risks.

Gang rapes, harassment, inhumane treatment, insults: LGTBI people1 are victims of physical and verbal abuse. Imprisonment exposes them to more risks.

The Association for the Prevention of Torture (APT) has published a practical guide for the protection of LGTBI people who are deprived of their freedom.

Designed to inform, raise awareness and protect, the guide is intended especially for public authorities such as law enforcement agencies and prison administrations. It outlines degrading treatments, reports cases of torture and exposes the different forms of discrimination inflicted on LGBTI people.

** « All persons living in a state of deprivation of liberty must be treated as humans and with the respect for the inherent dignity of the human person. Sexual orientation and gender identity are both an integral part of the dignity of every person. »
Principle number 9 of the Jogjakarta

Chapters III, IV and V of this guide are devoted to the daily life of LGBTI persons living in different types of places of deprivation of liberty.

  1. Acronym for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender or intersex people. ↩

LGBTI some people are purposely placed in the same cells with sex offenders

Prisons

Transgender prisoners experience violence and discrimination. These are exacerbated in places of confinement, according to APT.

The guide details “intimidating acts, harassment, verbal or psychological violence, exploitation including physical and sexual violence, and rape.” Specific acts of abuse are reported: LGBTI people are purposely placed in the same cells with sex offenders, others are “forced” to have sexual intercourse with prison staff in “exchange for favours such as cigarettes or alcohol.”

“This violence could be in form of blows to their chests with an intent of exploding their implants; they could also be forced to simulate sex acts in front of their co-prisoners, sometimes at the instigation of warders/guards who charge fees for “viewing” these scenes…” 1

The guide states that to bring an end to this violence, adequate training for prison warders/guards is indispensable. “When prison staff and administration do not fight this type of behaviour, they contribute to a homophobic and transphobic environment in which not only verbal violence, but also physical violence can be perpetrated with impunity.”

  1. page 65 of the report ↩

LGBTI people are exposed to significant risks due to inadequate conditions of detention

Police stations and administrative detention centres

• Police stations

Nobody is supposed to be detained for more than 48 hours in these places. Some sources reported that quite a few LGBTI people are forced to serve part of their sentence there. Lack of direct access to toilets and daylight, detention in collective cells: LGBTI people are exposed to significant risks due to these unsuitable detention conditions. They could also be exposed to violence from their co-detainees. Transgender women are kept in collective cells based on the sex assigned to them at birth regardless of their self-identified gender.

• Administrative detention centres

Placement in a migrant centre is an administrative measure, and as such is considered a non-punitive measure. Lists of asylum seekers are often drawn up without taking into account of the specific risks related to sexual orientation and gender identity. This is the case for LGBTI people who are denied their rightful protection. In order to avoid aggression, they are advised to use “discretion” and “conceal their sexual orientation“.

This guide is the result of five years’ work and research, with a compilation of fundamental elements to help understand and prevent torture. It raises questions about security and the protection of LGBTI people in places of detention and compels bodies of independent regulators to raise awareness about their protection.

Covering prisons, police custody facilities and administrative detention centres, the guide collects the work of experts from different disciplines. It reports good practices drawn from small-scale projects in Guatemala and Ireland and reports how regulators have addressed these issues during visits in the United Kingdom, France and Argentina.

** Read full report**

“All persons living in a state of deprivation of liberty must be treated as humans and with the respect for the inherent dignity of the human person. Sexual orientation and gender identity are both an integral part of the dignity of every person.” Principle number 9 of the Jogjakarta

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