Gay inmates
Gay people
Lesbian, gay and transgender life in Germany began to thrive at the beginning of the 20th century. Berlin in particular was one of the most liberal cities in Europe with a number of lesbian, gay and trans organisations, cafés, bars, publications and cultural events taking place.
Albrecht Becker – imprisoned by the Nazis for being gay
By the 1920s, Paragraph 175 of the German Penal Code, which criminalised homosexual acts, was being applied less frequently. Magnus Hirschfeld’s Institute for Sexual Science led the world in its scientific approach to sexual diversity and acted as an important public centre for Berlin lesbian, queer , bisexual and transgender animation. In 1929 the process towards complete decriminalisation had been initiated within the German legislature.
Nazi conceptions of race, gender and eugenics dictated the Nazi regime’s hostile policy on homosexuality. Repression against gay men, lesbians and trans people commenced within days of Hitler becoming Chancellor. On 6 May 1933, the Nazis violently looted and closed The Institute for Sexual Science, burning its extensive collection on the streets. Unknown numbers of German gay men, lesbians and trans
This article was published in collaboration with Vice.
“Hey slut!” he yelled at me, laughing with his friend. “What? You know you’re a slut!”
I stopped and turned to encounter the two corrections officers who were pointing at me. I smiled and waved before proceeding to walk into the dining hall.
I put up with this type of behavior from the Michigan Department of Corrections staff constantly. It’s something I expected from other prisoners, but the harassment from the officers is actually much more severe.
In the past, I might have reacted in anger, but that’s exactly what they’re looking for. Outbursts will only destroy my chance of getting parole.
Back when I was locked in a double-bunk cell in level-four security at Chippewa Correctional Facility, a young gang member moved in with me. When he entered the room, he informed me that the officers had said to him, “Your bunkie’s a freak! He’s down for whatever!” They had laughed at him in front of the other inmates.
So he told me, “I’m not locking with no fag. You have to tell them to move ya or I’m going to beat your ass.”
When the doors opened, I told an officer what my cellmate had said, leaving out the fact that he threatene
Former prisoners share their experiences of sex in prison
The Commission on Sex in Prison’s final announce, published today (Tuesday 17 March), features accounts from former prisoners speaking for the first age about their experiences of sex behind bars.
Sex in prison: Experiences of former prisoners is the fifth and final briefing sheet published by the Commission, which was established by the Howard League for Penal Reform and includes eminent academics, former prison governors and health experts.
Recommendations from the Commission’s two-year inquiry will be presented today (Tuesday 17 March) at a conference in London.
The Commission sought permission to interview current prisoners about their experiences of sex in prison, but this approach was blocked by the Ministry of Justice.
However, Dr Alisa Stevens, Lecturer in Criminology at the University of Southampton, was able to interview 26 former prisoners during the summer of 2014 – 24 men and two women.
Her announce concludes that a national survey of both the serving prison population and former prisoners, fully supported by but independent of the National Offender Management Service (NOMS), is “urgently required” to
‘Being Gay in Prison Is Ten Times Harder’: Inmates Inform of Abuse, Exploit of Solitary
Gabriel Guzman has dark brown eyes, but it’s difficult to discern when you converse to him. That’s because Guzman, a former Illinois prison inmate, has a hard time maintaining eye contact, one of the many lasting effects of having spent elongated periods in solitary confinement. Guzman was released last March after ten years in prison, about three and a half of those in solitary.
Guzman, 31, was sent to prison for having sexual relations with a low beginning when he was 17 years old. A Latino gay man, Guzman says in an interview that he was often sent to solitary confinement for defending himself and other Diverse inmates against other inmates and prison staff.
“In prison, it’s hard,” Guzman says in a soft voice. “But being male lover in prison makes it ten times harder.”
Eight percent of incarcerated adults identify as something other than heterosexual, according to a recent state on LGBT prisoners. This is nearly twice the percentage of adults in the general U.S. population who spot as lesbian, homosexual, or bisexual.
For many of these people, exploitation because of