 ‘Hassle, heartache, abuse’: transgender experiences of sex and sexual violence in one men's sex offender prisonLeigh Downes Chapter 9 in Research Handbook on Gender, Violence and Law, 2026, pp 143-158 from Edward Elgar Publishing Abstract: Public debate that positions trans women as a sexual danger to non-trans women held in women's prisons has deflected attention away from crucial questions about how and why sex and sexual violence is produced in carceral spaces as well as acknowledgment of the sexual harm that trans prisoners face in men's prisons. This chapter foregrounds empirical evidence on the materialities of trans lives in one men's sex offender prison, centring the voices of trans, non-binary and intersex prisoners and prison staff responsible for managing them. Through an analysis of semi-structured interviews, the meanings, moralities and management of trans prisoners’ sexual activity and sexual victimization are discussed. This reveals how a carceral logic of suspicion increased scrutiny, surveillance and punishment of trans prisoners whilst simultaneously obscuring sexual victimization. This enabled prison interests in order, security and management to be privileged over the safety and protection of trans prisoners from sexual violence. Keywords: Transgender prisoners; Prison; Sexual activity; Sexual violence; Sex offenders (search for similar items in EconPapers) Downloads: (external link) Related works: Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:elg:eechap:22689_9 Ordering information: This item can be ordered from Access Statistics for this chapter More chapters in Chapters from Edward Elgar Publishing |
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