Launch: Out on the Inside

2nd February 2016

Out on the Inside: The Rights, Experiences and Needs of LGBT People in Prison

IPRT launched a new report on the rights, needs and experiences of LGBT people in prison in Ireland on Tuesday 2nd February 2016 in the Wood Quay Venue, Christchurch, Dublin 8.

Speakers were:

• Dr Nicola Carr, who introduced the key findings and recommendations of the report;
• Broden Giambrone, Chief Executive of TENI (Transgender Equality Network Ireland); and
• Brian Sheehan, Executive Director of GLEN (Gay and Lesbian Equality Network).

This new 44-page report is based on research conducted by Dr Nicola Carr, Dr Siobhán McAlister and Dr Tanya Serisier of Queen’s University Belfast for IPRT. The report was supported by The Community Foundation of Ireland.

LGBT prisoners and ex-prisoners are described as a “doubly-marginalised” group - both in LGBT service provision on the outside, and in prison policy and practice on the inside. The report is the first in-depth study on the experiences of LGBT people in prison in Ireland, and includes first-hand testimony of LGBT people in prison, alongside a wider review of the prison and policy context. (See contents below.)

The report is available for download here. Hard copies are available from IPRT at: info@iprt.ie

Out on the Inside: The Rights, Experiences and Needs of LGBT People in Prison

Dr Nicola Carr, Dr Siobhán McAlister and Dr Tanya Serisier

ISBN: 978-0-9573037-7-5

Contents include:

LGBT PEOPLE IN PRISON: A Hidden Population                                                  

Numbers of LGBT People in Prison | Men’s Prisons: Masculinity, Homophobia and Invisibility | Lesbian and Bisexual Women in Prison | Transgender Prisoners and Hyper-Visibility | Same-Sex Behaviour and Identity in Prisons | Visibility and LGBT Culture in Prison | Inside Out – LGBT Peer Support | Conclusion: Prisons, Equality and Social Change

TRANSGENDER PRISONERS                                                                                                        

Research on Transgender Prisoners | Policy – Placement | International Models of Practice | Expression of Gender Identity | Access to Medical Treatment | Privacy – Searches and Showers | Rehabilitative Purpose

THE CONSEQUENCES OF HETEROSEXISM, HOMOPHOBIA AND TRANSPHOBIA: EXPERIENCES OF DISCRIMINATION, HARASSMENT AND VIOLENCE                   

Discrimination | Harassment, Abuse and Physical Violence | Sexual Violence | The Need for Safer Prisons | Responding to Harassment and Abuse | Accommodation Policies | Use of Segregation and Protective Custody

SEXUAL HEALTH AND RELATIONSHIPS IN PRISON                                                             

Regulation of Sex and Relationships | Sexual Health and Safe Sex | Coercion and Abuse