Donald Trump bans transgender women from female prisons for female inmates

In a surprising turn, President Trump has ordered federal prisons to house inmates who identify as transgender women within men’s facilities; moreover, he has mandated a cessation of medical treatments associated with gender transition. This move was part of a broad executive order issued by Mr Trump on his first day in office, aimed at constraining government acknowledgement of an individual’s gender to their sex at birth The directive concerning prisoners also extends to immigration detainees and represents some of the more concrete aspects of the order. Mr. Trump, having established certain restrictions on housing and healthcare for transgender prisoners during his prior term, has now implemented a more extensive directive. The order asserts it is designed to safeguard women’s spaces from individuals who self-identify as women; however, Trump had previously imposed similar constraints.

Notably, the order includes specific stipulations regarding its application in federal prisons, which currently accommodate nearly 2,300 transgender inmates—approximately 1.5 percent of the overall population. During his election campaign, Donald Trump famously vowed to “keep men out of women’s sports.” Republicans at all levels campaigned on the issue in November’s election: a particular focus was or perhaps one could say centred around transgender women participating in school sports. Trump pledged during his campaign to restrict gender-affirming care and, of course, transgender sports participation. However, this stance sparked significant debate, because many argued it infringed on rights. Although some supporters believed it was necessary for fairness, critics maintained that it marginalized an already vulnerable population. “With the stroke of my pen on day one, we are going to stop the transgender lunacy,” Trump said last month in Phoenix, Arizona, as he promised to end what he termed “child sexual mutilation,” remove transgender individuals from military service, and eliminate transgender topics from elementary, middle, and high school education. He reiterated his administration’s stance on gender: “Under the Trump administration, it will be the official policy of the US government that there are only two genders, male and female. Doesn’t sound too complicated, does it?” “And we will keep men out of women’s sports. And that will likewise be done on day one. Should I do day one, day two, or day three? How about day one, right?” he told the crowd.