Demand Justice for Raped Trans Inmate Jovanie Saldana
- by: Care2.com
- recipient: Riverside Correction Facility Officials
When inmate Jovanie Saldana reported being raped by a male guard, she expected Riverside Correction Facility authorities to investigate and prosecute him. Instead, officials learned that she was a trans woman and promptly transferred her to a male prison, placing her at extreme risk of further physical and sexual violence.
Instead of concentrating on the safety of a possible sexual assault victim, RCF officials blamed Saldana herself for failing to reveal her biological sex. Lorenzo North, president of the union representing corrections officers, claimed that Saldana's trans status automatically implied that she was lying about her rape.
RCF officials have handled Saldana's case with a shocking disregard for compassion, safety, and human rights. Demand that they concentrate on protecting Saldana and other inmates like her from further abuse instead of putting them in even more danger.
Your recent decision to place trans woman Jovanie Saldana in a male correctional facility after she reported her rape by a correctional officer is both irresponsible and morally reprehensible.
Lorenzo North, president of the union representing corrections officers, implied that Saldana's trans status therefore meant that she could not possibly be telling the truth about her assault. This assumption was an example of gross victim-blaming.
Saldana's trans identity has nothing to do with her assault, except that it places her in even graver danger at a male prison. I demand that you concentrate your efforts on protecting her and other trans prisoners like her, rather than pandering to the transphobic allies of her rapist.
