PILP Sends Advocacy Letter Demanding "Reasonable Accommodation" for Transgender Woman Subjected to Strip Searches at SCI Mahanoy
The Pennsylvania Institutional Law Project wrote a letter on behalf of our Dawn Guthrie, a transgender woman incarcerated at SCI Mahanoy who has been diagnosed with both Gender Dysphoria and Depressive Disorder. Ms. Guthrie, a sexual assault survivor, is currently subjected to invasive strip searches by male corrections officers at any time. To avoid this trauma, she has declined family and legal visits for several months. The letter asks that reasonable accommodation be made for Ms. Guthrie and that she be searched solely by female correctional officers going forward. Read the full letter here.