Prisoners’ dilemma
The policy is likely to create more problems than it solves
K
ARLA BELLO, a care assistant in Florida, had been living as a woman for years when she missed a court hearing following a series of traffic violations, failed to pay bail and wound up in a male jail. There, the guards called her “sir” and confiscated her bra and “gaff” (a piece of fabric used to hide male genitalia), leaving her feeling humiliated. Worse, she says, she was denied access to the cross-sex hormones to which she had become habituated, inducing chest pains and intense anxiety. Putting transgender women in men’s prisons can be cruel. It is also, in an already dangerous environment, perilous: research suggests that transgender inmates are much more likely than other prisoners to be assaulted.
Photograph by Matthew SuÁrez
San Diegans who live in their vehicles say the city has implemented new measures in its fight against so-called “van life” and the habitation of vehicles.
“Amber” lost her job as a customer service representative due to Covid. Jobless and faced with high living costs, she, her husband, and her seven-year-old daughter moved out of their City Heights apartment at the end of June.
In July, the family decided to buy an RV and live in it until they could get back on their feet, and until Amber could find another job.
Photograph by Matthew SuÁrez