ATLANTA — Georgia prison officials are changing how they treat inmates with gender identity conditions, just days after the U.S. Justice Department weighed in on a lawsuit filed by a transgender prisoner.
The new policy took effect Tuesday after the Justice Department said in a court filing April 3 that prison officials must treat an inmate’s gender identity condition just as they would treat any other medical or mental health condition.
The Justice Department brief was filed in the case of a lawsuit filed in February by the Southern Poverty Law Center on behalf of Ashley Diamond, a transgender woman. The lawsuit says prison officials have failed to provide adequate treatment for Diamond’s gender dysphoria, a condition that causes a person to experience extreme distress because of a disconnect between birth sex and gender identity.
The new Georgia Department of Corrections policy says inmates with a possible gender dysphoria diagnosis will be evaluated by qualified medical and mental health professionals, and that will include an assessment of the inmate’s treatment and experiences before entering prison.
If an inmate is diagnosed with gender dysphoria, a treatment plan will be developed to address the patient’s physical and mental health. The plan will take into account prior treatment but will also be reviewed and updated as necessary.