An advocate for reform in women’s prisons is calling for an overhaul of federal law following a recent report highlighting serious allegations of harassment and sexual assault at a Massachusetts women’s correctional facility.
The report, published Wednesday by The Hill as an opinion column from mental health professional and journalist Forest Romm, details claims from female inmates at MCI-Framingham, a 150-year-old medium-security prison in the Boston area. The report cited comments from inmates who described the facility as “a haven for sexual predators who pretend to be transgender” and allege that male offenders who self-identify as women have been housed there under the state’s 2018 Criminal Justice Reform Act.
Romm identifies several MCI-Framingham inmates with histories of violent sexual offenses against women and children, including cases where individuals discontinued hormone treatments after transfer while retaining male genitalia.
According to the report, female inmates reportedly face harassment, abuse and retaliation for reporting incidents, with one woman claiming she was raped in November and then placed in restrictive housing, stating, “It feels like I’m being punished for speaking up. … They are treating me as if I should have kept my mouth shut — as if it’s my fault, or as though I should have defended myself.”
Amie Ichikawa, executive director and founding member of Woman II Woman, which advocates for the safety, dignity and re-entry support of incarcerated women, praised the article.