Survivor Stories

JDI has made only minor edits for spelling and clarity. Please note that some of these stories are graphic and may be difficult to read.

  • Seven inmates gang-raped and tortured Clifford while incarcerated at a private prison in Oklahoma. Clifford reported the abuse and has endured relentless retaliation as a result.

  • Angela is a transgender woman who was repeatedly abused in a Colorado prison. After she reported the abuse, nothing was done to protect her.

  • Xandan is a transgender man incarcerated in a Texas state prison for women. For years, he has faced transphobic harassment and has been repeatedly physically and sexually abused.

  • Tabitha is a transgender woman who has been sexually assaulted by fellow prisoners at several men’s prisons throughout New York State. She has never gotten a response for reporting the abuse, and was even raped once while trying to file a grievance.

     

  • One day in 1986, in the Louisiana town where I grew up, a police officer drove up beside me as I was walking home from my grandparents’ house. The officer asked me a series of questions. Then he asked me if I would like a ride home. He said I could sit in the front seat. I knew his entire family, and I had never been in a police car before, so I didn’t feel I was in any danger. At that time my perception of police officers was positive.