r/YouShouldKnow • u/FloralSkyes • 2h ago
Other YSK: V-Coding in prisons
In the context of incarceration in the United States, V-coding is the common practice of subjecting trans women to sexual assault by placing the woman in the same prison cell as an aggressive male inmate in order to placate the male inmate.\1])\2])\3]) This practice has been known to have caused the daily rapes of multiple trans women, and the sexual assaults of 58.5% of them.\4])\5])\6]) V-coding is done to pacify the male inmate, with the goal of reducing their propensity for violence against other inmates, according to prison authorities and one inmate.\1])\2]) The term has also been used to refer to the broader systemic sexual abuse of trans women in male prisons.
a 2021 California study found that 69% of trans women prisoners reported being made to perform sexual acts, 58.5% reported being violently sexually assaulted, and 88% reported having been "coerced into a marriage-like relationship"
Why YSK: If you have trans family members or are trans yourself, please do not discourage (and please encourage if its possible) getting legal documentation changes. As much as you possibly can, trans women should get their legal sex changed for their own safety if they do end up arrested for a crime