I am a transgender woman incarcerated in Colorado. I was raped twice in a men’s prison. When I was assaulted the first time, I was afraid to “snitch” because I was in fear that my life would end.
I complained and wrote two letters to two different case managers, requesting to be transferred, because I no longer felt safe. The letters were given to the case managers, but they still kept me in the prison.
A year later, I was sexually assaulted again, and this time one of the inmates who did it was caught. I was sent to the medical unit, where I had to wait three hours to speak with an investigator. Fearing retaliation, I refused to press charges — so they refused to give me medical treatment or do a rape kit on me. I was placed in segregation for 14 days, and when I tried to file grievances, they wouldn’t let me.
Weeks later, I was finally transferred. But I was never supposed to be in that prison, especially after I had written kites and letters about my safety. I started a grievance procedure against the facility where I was raped and I plan to file a lawsuit.