Trans woman forced to move to men’s facility after consensual sex with inmate, suit says
A transgender woman’s incarceration at a men’s prison is “unconstitutionally cruel,” a legal petition filed against the Washington State Department of Corrections this week says.
Amber Kim was forced to move to the Monroe Correctional Complex in June 2024 over a “non-violent infraction” — having consensual sex with her cellmate at the Washington Corrections Center for Women, according to the ACLU of Washington, which is representing her.
Before her transfer, Kim spent more than three years at the women’s facility as part of a life sentence she’s serving, the petition filed Dec. 17 says.
Her transfer to the all-male facility is unprecedented, as she’s the first transgender woman in the state to be moved from a women’s prison to a men’s prison, the ACLU of Washington said in a Dec. 17 news release.
Upon her arrival at Monroe Correctional Complex, she was put in solitary confinement, according to the organization. Monroe is about a 30-mile drive northeast from Seattle.
She has chosen to remain in solitary because she fears being targeted for violence over her gender, the petition says.
A report by The Marshall Project on violence against transgender individuals in federal corrections centers notes “transgender women in men’s prisons are a ready target for extortion, exploitation and assault.”
The ACLU of Washington’s petition says: “Kim elects to live in solitary confinement rather than endure the physical and psychological harm that would become her everyday reality if housed in men’s general population.”
The filing challenges Kim’s confinement, arguing that moving her in a men’s prison for violating a policy related to sexual contact at the female facility is cruel punishment, in violation of the state constitution, according to the ACLU.
“If I am eventually placed in men’s general population, I will live in constant fear. I am afraid of physical assault, sexual assault, and the constant harassment,” a declaration written by Kim and filed in court says.
State DOC spokesman Christopher Wright told McClatchy News on Dec. 20 that the department does not comment on pending litigation and cannot speak on Kim’s personal health information due to a settlement agreement reached with Disability Rights Washington in October 2023.
“She has been housed in men’s facilities for the vast majority of her time in DOC custody since she was convicted of killing her parents in 2008,” Wright said.
Bullying, harassment and violence in men’s facilities
Since her arrest at age 18, when she was a high school senior, Kim has spent more than 18 years in law enforcement custody, according to the legal petition.
“At the time, Ms. Kim did not openly share her identity as a transgender woman, despite internal knowledge of her gender identity,” the petition says.
While incarcerated in men’s facilities, she “was small and perceived by others as effeminate,” according to the petition.
As a result, she endured bullying and harassment that included being called derogatory slurs, violence and sexual assault attempts, the filing says.
In 2016, Kim told the state DOC that she is a transgender woman and then began hormone replacement therapy in custody, according to the filing.
It wasn’t easy for Kim to legally change her name, receive gender-affirming care and get transferred to a women’s facility, a move that took place in 2021, HuffPost reported.
According to the ACLU of Washington, the transfer happened because the state DOC recognized the need for Kim to live in a women’s facility.
She was sent to the women’s prison after the DOC established a policy that makes sure transgender, intersex and gender nonbinary individuals are treated fairly in custody and are assessed to have their needs met.
Wright told McClatchy News that Washington was one of the first states in the U.S. to establish this type of policy.
Deemed a ‘safety risk’
According to the ACLU of Washington, Kim and her former cellmate at the Washington Corrections Center for Women both faced consequences after they were caught having sexual relations.
At first, they were moved to “close custody” at the facility, but then the DOC decided Kim “was a safety risk” and later transferred her to the men’s prison, the ACLU of Washington says.
However, Kim’s former cellmate was allowed to return to the same housing, medium security, at the women’s prison two months later, according to the organization.
“DOC is forcing Ms. Kim to live in a single-sex prison that does not align with her gender identity and placing her at imminent risk of violence,” the petition says.
There are 284 transgender individuals incarcerated in 11 Washington state prisons as of Dec. 20, 10 of whom are in gender-affirming housing at the Washington Corrections Center for Women, according to Wright.
He said the “DOC strongly emphasizes the importance of inclusion and representation by recognizing the unique challenges that non-binary and transgender incarcerated people face.”
In a statement, Kim said “For the three-and-a-half years I was housed at (the women’s facility) I used my time there to learn, to grow and to contribute positively to the WCCW.”
“Being singled out for exceptional punishment — and transferred to a men’s prison — over a single infraction not only harms me, but every other incarcerated transgender person,“ Kim said.
This story was originally published December 20, 2024 at 1:21 PM with the headline "Trans woman forced to move to men’s facility after consensual sex with inmate, suit says."
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