Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ) people in prison face difficulties which non-LGBTQ prisoners and non-incarcerated LGBTQ people do not. LGBTQ prisoners have been identified as having an increased vulnerability to sexual assault, other kinds of violence, and trouble accessing necessary medical care. While much of the available data on LGBTQ inmates comes from the United States, Amnesty International maintains records of known incidents internationally in which LGBTQ prisoners and those perceived to be lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender have suffered torture, ill-treatment and violence at the hands of fellow inmates as well as prison officials. One US-based human rights organization, Just Detention International, describes LGBTQ inmates as "among the most vulnerable in the prison population." In California prisons, two-thirds of LGBTQ people report that they were assaulted while incarcerated. The vulnerability of LGBTQ prisoners has led some prisons to separate them from other prisoners, while in others they are housed with the general population. Historically, LGBTQ people in the United States have been socially and economically vulnerable due to their queer status. Policy, policing and the criminal justice system have historically perpetrated violence upon marginalized populations, like the queer community. This along with criminalizing same sex behaviors have created a disproportionate population of LGBTQ people in US-based prisons.
Rates of imprisonment
Rates of imprisonment in the United States In the United States, LGBTQ individuals are incarcerated at a higher rate than the general population. An analysis of data collected between 2011 and 2012 found that same-sex attracted adults were incarcerated at a rate of 1,882 per 100,000, more than triple the national average, with the discrepancy largely driven by a large overrepresentation of lesbian and bisexual women. This overrepresentation of LGBTQ people in incarceration is part of the broader trend of LGBTQ overrepresentation in all stages of the criminal justice system (arrest, incarceration, parole, etc.). LGBT offenders have been little studied, so the causes of the discrepancy are poorly understood. LGBT people are more likely to live in poverty, which may contribute to the higher rate of criminal offending. It has also been attributed to minority stress.
Lesbians and bisexual women Lesbian and bisexual women are overrepresented in incarceration. The rate of lesbian or bisexual identification among incarcerated women in the U.S. (42.1% in prisons and 35.7% in jails) is around 8 to 10 times higher than the national baseline (3.4%). Similar patterns have been observed among Australian prisoners. Two conceptual frameworks are used to understand the over-representation of sexual minority women in prison: that women become bisexual or lesbian in prison, and that sexual minority women are more likely to go to prison in the first place. Supporting the first framework, some incarcerated women identify as "gate gays," meaning that they are gay while inside the prison's gates, but return to a straight identity upon release. However, the majority of women who have sex with women in prison engaged in same-sex sexual activity before incarceration. In one survey of female prisoners in Queensland, just 25% of those who had a same-sex sexual relationship while in prison said it was their first time with another woman.
Gay and bisexual men Some studies have indicated that the rate of gay and bisexual men in the prison and jail population in the U.S. (5.5% in prison and 3.3% in jail) is close to the national rate (3.6%). Other studies argue that gay and bisexual men, also including men who have sex with men (MSM), are almost twice as likely to be incarcerated than heterosexual men (9.3% in prisons and 6.2% in jails). This has been attributed to minority stress and social exclusion from family and community on gay and bisexual men, which makes financial support more difficult.
Transgender incarceration Compared to sexual orientation, less data is available about transgender people in the criminal justice system. In 2011, the National Transgender Discrimination Survey found that 35% of black transgender Americans believe that they have been incarcerated simply due to perceived anti-trans bias, compared to 4% of white transgender respondents. Black transgender people had higher rates of experiences of incarceration in general (47% compared to 12% of white transgender people). It also found that black trans women were sexually assaulted in jail at a rate of 38%, compared to 12% of white trans women prisoners. As of 2015, the National Center for Transgender Equality estimated that one in six transgender individuals in the United States has been incarcerated in their lifetime, compared to the Bureau of Justice Statistics rate of one in twenty for the general population. Trans women and black transgender people are particularly likely to be incarcerated, with 21% and 47% having ever been incarcerated respectively.
Rates of imprisonment in the United Kingdom As of 2024, 3% of the UK's prison system declares a non-heterosexual sexual orientation. As of 2021, just 0.2% of the UK's prison population is trans. Shon Faye notes in The Transgender Issue that the actual number of trans inmates in the UK is likely to be higher than this due to the exclusion from this number of trans people who have changed their legal gender and birth certificate, and that the number is reliant on trans prisoners presenting themselves to prison authorities as trans. As of 2023, 83% of transgender prisoners reported their legal gender as male, and only 10 prisoners had a Gender Recognition Certificate
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