Unsafe

Editor’s note: content warning for mentions of transmisogynistic violence and rape

12/13/19

There are times when I wonder if the DOC is trying to put me in dangerous situations. Then there are times where I know for a fact they are intentionally putting me in danger for their own amusement.

This week on the chain a guy came in on the chain and was placed in a different unit than me, let’s call him Dee. I’ve changed his name to protect his identity. I immediately had over a dozen people come up to me and tell me “be careful he’s a threat.” I told them I would be and thanked them for letting me know.
I’m always careful, and I appreciated them pointing out a specific threat to my safety. However, after the fifth person came up to me to tell me about him I began to really worry. I’m used to having one or two people tell me “so-and-so is a bad person”, but as the sheer number of people warning me about Dee increased I began to get upset with the people giving me the warning. An amorphous warning does not help. I need to know why this guy specifically is such a threat. Most of the people I called on this point balked and refused to say more, but a couple of people finally gave me details.

Dee has a history of, on multiple occasions, physically attacking trans women and youngsters, dragging them into the cell or other secluded area, then raping them.
At which point I had an “Oh shit, at least he’s not in my unit” moment. Until I learned he was placed on the same wing as the trans women in A-unit. This upset me. There are three wings per unit. Placing someone that has a history of being that much of a predator on the same wing as a bunch of trans women is essentially the same as giving him access and permission to harm them.

While I was still scrambling to figure out what, if anything, I could do to support them they had organized themselves, gone to the CUS as a group, and gotten Dee moved off of their wing.

I was proud of them in that moment, then I learned where the DOC decided to move Dee to. B-unit, A-wing. Where I live.

Like I said, there are three wings per unit. They could have placed him on C-wing where there are no trans women, they could have moved the one trans woman on B-wing and put him there. Both choices would have supported our safety. Instead they chose to put him on another pod with a concentration of trans women where he would have access to us and be able to cause us serious harm.

This is not the first time the DOC has placed me in a position where I am liable to be raped. It is not okay and I am now scrambling to organize the people here for our own self preservation.

The DOC claims that they do all kinds of stuff in the name of safety and security. Most of them are lies. They care more about control and if that means rewarding one of their pet snitches with access to people who fit their victim profile, well… they’re perfectly happy to do so.

The DOC does not keep me safe. My circle of friends keeps me safe. I keep me safe.

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