Beyond Binary: The Challenges Faced by Transgender Individuals in Italian Correctional Facilities, Present Realities and Future Prospects

Journal title WELFARE E ERGONOMIA
Author/s Lluis Francesc Peris Cancio, Francesca Farruggia
Publishing Year 2025 Issue 2024/2
Language English Pages 13 P. 43-55 File size 117 KB
DOI 10.3280/WE2024-002003
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The issue of the right to affectivity and sexuality is still a cause of concern for the prison administration, sparking a heated debate in society. The binary representation of sexual difference in prison has provoked reactions aimed at reaffirming the traditional categories of reference. What is grave is the violation of rights for detainees, especially transgender people, who do not fit into the male-female categories and do not reflect the heteronormativity on which the prison bases its organization. Trans prisoners in Italian prisons often face a double sentence: one dictated by the crimes committed and the other one by their gender identity. Institutional complexity, inadequate staff training, and widespread prejudices result in a context that ghettoizes and criminalizes trans individuals. Providing transsexual people with access to treatment pathways, institute activities, and an adequate health service that meets their specific needs is particularly challenging. In 2018, the Orlando Law for the Reform of the Penitentiary System led to the development of relevant good practices. This article provides a sociological contribution to the study of this phenomenon in Italy with an international perspective, analyzing the state of the art and illustrating a mapping of sections dedicated to transsexual people.

Keywords: binary; prison; transgender; correctional facilities; penitentiary system.

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Lluis Francesc Peris Cancio, Francesca Farruggia, Beyond Binary: The Challenges Faced by Transgender Individuals in Italian Correctional Facilities, Present Realities and Future Prospects in "WELFARE E ERGONOMIA" 2/2024, pp 43-55, DOI: 10.3280/WE2024-002003