Former Inmate Empowers Transgender Women in Colombian Prisons – NBCNews.com

A group shot in the midst of work on a transgender art project at La Picota prison in Colombia. Guillermo Camacho

In 2011, following a high profile case involving the mistreatment of a transgender woman in Yopal prison, Colombias constitutional court ordered prison authority Inpec to sort out its policies to guarantee the welfare of LGBTQ prisoners.

Inpec finally complied with the court order last year, revealing a new directive that instructed prison guards to allow transgender inmates access to makeup, clothes and accessories, along with visits from same-sex partners.

The directive was a first step toward respecting these identities, said Estefana Mndez, coordinator and legal advisor at Bodies in Prison-Minds in Action. But it overlooked some very important things, such as health and all the treatments associated with the construction of a transgender identity.

Introduction of the 'Cartilla'

Responding to this legal ambiguity, the activists produced a "cartilla," an information booklet containing practical and legal guidelines for the prisoners. Some 500 copies were published and distributed to inmates and staff in La Picota and other Colombian jails with significant transgender populations.

The cartilla is a way for the girls to understand their rights, Mndez said. Its letting them know, What happens if they try to cut your hair, or confiscate your belongings, or act improperly? How do you file a complaint against prison staff?

Laura Zamora, a 31-year-old transgender inmate at La Picota and a co-author of the upcoming second version of the cartilla, said the initiative enabled the girls to defend spaces that had been won for LGBTQ people.

These are our rights, theyre not favors or privileges, she said.

A recent report by Bogot-based Colombia Diversa underlined the urgency of protecting the countrys LGBTQ prisoners.

Alleged cases of physical and psychological aggression, sexual assault, threats, harassment and the use of prolonged solitary confinement against prisoners with diverse sexual orientations or gender identities were carried out with virtual impunity. The violence and discrimination were made worse by severe overcrowding, corruption and a crisis in the prison health care system, the report said.

Things have improved a lot in La Picota, ngel said. But its not the case in all the prisons the girls dont have these resources, they dont have this empowerment. If we had the funds, we would distribute many more cartillas.

Reintegration Into Society

Another of the projects longer-term ambitions is to help ex-offenders reintegrate into society. For marginalized transgender women, though, a bid to build a new life is fraught with difficulties, in particular when it comes to health, housing and jobs.

Deysi Olarte Navarro, head of the sub-directorate for LGBTQ issues at Bogotas Social Integration Department, said transgender people face a unique kind of discrimination. Its much harder for a trans woman to get a job because of the stigma against us, Navarro said. Were seen as drug addicts, criminals, people who transmit diseases.

The sub-directorates sexual and gender diversity center in Santa Fe last year provided around 300 vulnerable individuals with free education and training, with plans to double this figure in 2017.

Zamora, who, like ngel, spent time in Santa Fe before La Picota, recognized that discrimination and family rejection often forced trans women onto the streets but refused to accept the label of "victim."

Poverty and exclusion are things that we have appropriated ourselves. We need to generate new spaces that provide us with opportunities other than prostitution and drugs. We're not victims, she said.

For now, the activists at Bodies in Prison-Minds in Action are focusing on their second cartilla, a much bulkier 90-page document that will include up-to-date information on accessing specialized health care and hormone replacement therapy.

The first version did a lot of good," Katalina said. "But this second one will be even better.

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