Medical treatment for prisoners diagnosed with gender dysphoria should be delivered according to accepted medical standards. Prison and jail staff must evaluate you for gender dysphoria within a reasonable time if you request it.PREA says you cannot be segregated against your will for more than 30 days and if you are in protective custody you must have access to programs, privileges, education and work opportunities to the extent possible. Many correctional facilities house transgender prisoners in solitary confinement to protect them from violence.A transgender or intersex prisoner’s own views with respect to their own safety must be given serious consideration when making these determinations. The federal Prison Rape Elimination Act (PREA) requires prisons and jails to make individualized housing placements for all transgender and intersex prisoners, including when assigning them to male or female facilities.When you enter prison, inform staff you are transgender or believe you are at risk - both verbally and in writing. If you notify prison officials that you are transgender, and/or have been threatened, officials are legally required to act to protect you.Department of Justice – Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act (RLUIPA).You can contact the ACLU in your state for more information.Department of Justice’s Special Litigation Division. You can file a complaint with the U.S.Prison officials cannot give special preference to members of one faith, or treat prisoners of some religions less favorably than those of others. They cannot punish you for declining to take part in religious activities or events that include religious elements. Prison officials cannot impose religious beliefs or practices on you.They also may be required to allow you to have religious texts, wear certain religious clothing, headwear, and jewelry, and maintain religious grooming practices (e.g., wearing a beard or long hair). Depending on your particular circumstances, prison officials may be required to provide you with a religious diet (e.g., halal or kosher meals), worship services, and access to clergy.If prison officials cannot show this, they must provide a religious accommodation to enable you to practice your faith. If a prison policy, rule, or practice significantly impedes your ability to practice your sincerely held religious beliefs, prison officials must show that applying the rule to you furthers an extremely important (in legal terms, “compelling”) governmental interest (e.g., prisoners’ safety or health) and that there is no other reasonable way to go about protecting that interest. Federal law provides special protections for prisoners’ religious exercise.If you believe you are in immediate danger of assault, you should tell a staff member you trust (mental health worker, teacher, etc.).Note that there are usually strict time limits for filing a grievance, so you should do so as soon as possible. If you have been assaulted by an officer or fellow prisoner, you should file a grievance, and appeal it through all available levels of appeal.What to do if you believe that your rights have been violated Prison officials may be violating the Eighth Amendment if they knew about a risk of assault by other prisoners but failed to respond, or if prison conditions or practices create an unreasonable risk of assault (for example, not having enough officers on the unit, not having cell doors that lock properly, etc.).Officers may not use force maliciously or sadistically with intent to cause harm, but they may use force in good faith efforts to keep order.Prison officials have a legal duty under the Eighth Amendment of the Constitution to refrain from using excessive force and to protect prisoners from assault by other prisoners.
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