Transgender prisoner files human rights complaint, claims discrimination at Surrey prison
Posted May 2, 2019 11:17 pm.
Last Updated May 3, 2019 1:12 am.
This article is more than 5 years old.
SURREY (NEWS 1130) — The B.C. Human Rights Tribunal has agreed to hear a complaint from a transgender prisoner.
Michelle Wiens has accused staff at Surrey’s pretrial jail of discrimination for denying her request to be transferred to a female facility, and housing her with a male roommate.
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That’s all after she told them she was a woman.
She claims she spent time in solitary confinement because she didn’t know she could seek a transfer and her requests for women’s clothing were also rejected.
She also asked for privacy in the bathroom and shower — that was denied — and staff continued to refer to her by incorrect pronouns.
Corrections staff say Wiens did not initially identify herself as a woman when she arrived in November of 2017.
