A Georgia prison has reinstated hormone therapy for transgender inmate Ashley Diamond, but Diamond’s lawyers say the dosage appears to be too low to be therapeutic. Diamond’s facial hair has already started growing as her body reverts to a masculine state, experiences that have led her to attempt suicide and self-castration.
The Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) filed a suit in February, alleging that Diamond had not only been denied proper medical treatment, but had been sexually assaulted as many as seven times in the men’s prison. Georgia has a “freeze-frame” policy that prevents trans inmates from starting or expanding their treatment beyond what they were taking when they entered the system. In Diamond’s case, she was taken off hormone therapy for unclear reasons — perhaps because she lacked the documentation necessary or was denied the opportunity to present it.
At the beginning of this month, the Justice Department intervened, advocating for Diamond to receive the proper hormone treatment, which she had previously been on for 17 years. “Failure to provide individualized and appropriate medical care for inmates suffering from gender dysphoria violates the Eighth Amendment’s prohibition on cruel and unusual punishment,” the department asserted.
The SPLC is cautiously optimistic that Georgia has restored Diamond’s therapy, but if it’s insufficient, it may be a distinction without a difference. “We currently are reviewing the new policy to make certain that it complies with constitutional requirements and that it will ensure improved care for Ashley Diamond and others in her circumstances, who are among the most vulnerable and targeted for abuse and mistreatment in our prison systems,” the SPLC told the Georgia Voice.
A hearing was held Thursday to address an emergency motion to transfer Diamond to a lower security prison to help protect her from the mistreatment she’d experienced, an issue that has still not been resolved. Corrections officials denied she’d experienced any sexual assault or harassment and referred to her with male pronouns throughout the hearing. They also argued that they offered her protective custody, but she has denied it because she has experienced psychological distress — including increased attempts to castrate and kill herself — from what is essentially solitary confinement. Diamond has described her experience being denied basic medical care and forced to change her gender as “torture.”
Many other transgender inmates have been fighting for proper medical treatment across the country. Just last week, California inmate Michelle-Lael Norsworthy won a case vying for sex reassignment surgery, but state Attorney General Kamala Harris (D) is filing an appeal. Massachusetts inmate Michelle Kosilek had her original victory reversed by the First Circuit, and she is now appealing to the Supreme Court seeking surgery as well. In February, Chelsea Manning was finally approved to begin receiving hormone therapy at the Army’s all-male Fort Leavenworth prison.