Florida is Gratuitously Cruel and Promotes Quack Pseudo-Science
Delray Beach, FL–Truth Wins Out strongly condemns Florida’s recent policy changes that subject transgender inmates in Florida prisons to the discredited practice of conversion therapy. These despicable new measures are a direct attack on basic human dignity and seek to strip trans inmates of critical gender-affirming care.
The Marshall Project and Tampa Bay Times found that the state urges transgender prisoners to undergo “therapy” to deal with “unaddressed psychiatric issues and unaddressed childhood trauma that could lead to a misdiagnosis of gender dysphoria.” The policy suggests that cross-gender hormones “may be requested by persons experiencing short-termed delusions or beliefs which may later be changed and reversed.”
“The Florida Department of Corrections is treating transgender women as less-than-human by subjecting them to conversion therapy and invasive physical examinations,” said Truth Wins Out Executive Director Wayne Besen. “Not only are these inmates punished for their crimes, but they are unfairly receiving additional state-sponsored retribution for who they are. This is religious indoctrination masquerading as incarceration. It is an outrageous abuse of power and an ugly example of bullying that must end.”
Besen continued: “If anyone needs intensive psychotherapy, it’s Florida’s conservative Republicans and abusive prison staff who need experts to help them understand how poor family dynamics created sadistic, sexually predatory creeps who seem to get off on domination and humiliation of helpless captives who can’t fight back.”
In addition to quack therapy, the Sunshine State is reportedly placing some transgender inmates in solitary confinement for failing to adhere to the new regulations, including Mariko Sundwall, who was punished with 10 days in solitary confinement after refusing to allow the prison guards to cut her hair.
The punitive policy, implemented in September 2024, mandates invasive breast exams and the forced surrender of bras and other “female” undergarments for transgender women incarcerated in men’s facilities.
This dehumanizing process forces incarcerated women to give up their bras and other personal items, such as women’s underwear and toiletries, deemed “female.” The policy limits the availability of cross-gender hormones, providing them only in “rare instances” where required to comply with constitutional rulings or court orders.
Florida’s anti-transgender policies are part of a broader agenda promoted by Republican Governor Ron DeSantis, who has spearheaded a series of legislative attacks. Earlier laws banned access to gender-affirming care for minors and imposed restrictions on the ability of transgender people to access essential health services. The state’s Medicaid program has also refused coverage for gender-affirming care, a decision that was challenged in federal court.
“The Florida Department of Corrections is trying to erase our identities and erase our very selves,” said Sarah Maatsch, a transgender woman incarcerated in a men’s facility. “I’ve already been diagnosed with gender dysphoria, and I’m being punished for it. I don’t know how much more I can take.”
Truth Wins Out calls on the Florida Department of Corrections to immediately reverse this harmful policy and ensure that transgender inmates receive the gender-affirming care they are entitled to under the U.S. Constitution. These women deserve to be treated with respect, dignity, and compassion, not subjected to invasive medical examinations, discredited conversion therapy and denied the care they need.
“Transgender people, whether in or out of prison, deserve to live free from discrimination and violence,” Besen continued. “Florida’s actions are a direct attack on the rights and humanity of transgender people, and we will continue to fight back until they are held accountable for this injustice.”
For media inquiries:
Contact: Wayne Besen, Executive Director
Email: wbesen@truthwinsout.org
Website: TruthWinsOut.org
