In 2023, Wisconsin state Rep. Ty Bodden was approached by several of his constituents and Department of Corrections employees who were concerned about policies allowing trans-identified males to be housed in women’s prisons. As someone who previously worked in admissions at the Taycheedah Correctional Institution, a facility that houses both medium- and maximum-security female inmates, Bodden understood their concerns.
Several of his constituents were concerned that the administrative code would require female officers to perform strip searches on trans-identified males, putting those officers in potentially dangerous and uncomfortable positions.
The code’s redefinition of “sex” to include “gender identity” could also open the door to trans-identified males being housed with biological women in female prisons.
State Rep. Bodden, who had worked with female inmates for several years, said he was concerned for their safety.
“I knew that there were instances where there were women who felt uncomfortable because there were biological men,” Bodden told IW Features..
In fact, a report from 2023 uncovered that there were 161 trans-identified males identifying as women in the Wisconsin Department of Corrections prisons. Among these, 81 had previously been convicted of either sexual assault or sexual abuse. In other words, more than half of the trans-identified male inmates being housed with female prisoners had been convicted of sexual crimes.
In a written testimony, Wisconsin Sen. Jesse James revealed that one such trans-identified inmate in Taycheedah Correction Institution “has a history of violent crimes against women. In this case, the inmate raped his 10-year-old daughter,” James said.
A Wisconsin legislative staffer who worked alongside the Department of Corrections shared a similar story. “We heard that [a trans-identified male inmate] had a female roommate whom he was very aggressive towards. He was violent and masturbating all of the time,” she testified. “Her husband advocated for him to be moved, but they wouldn’t allow it.”
His presence inside the female prison wasn’t questioned because he had undergone experimental gender surgery, according to the testimony. The state may have even paid for his experimental surgery, since the Department of Corrections ensures a “standard of care” which can include transgender medicalization if an inmate claims to be transgender. The Department of Corrections’ policy, DAI Policy 500.70.27, states “necessary” “transgender management and care” includes hormone therapy treatments and vaginoplasties or phalloplasties.
Once an inmate has received a vaginoplasty or phalloplasty, they are required by Policy 500.70.27 to be placed in an incarceration facility that corresponds with the experimental surgery they have had. However, even if they are preoperative, trans-identified inmates can request to be placed in a facility of the opposite sex. This means that men have a fast track to being allowed into female prisons by simply claiming that they are transgender.
In an October 2024 audit of Taycheedah, officials found there were a total of 76 inmates who identified as either transgender or intersex. The prison’s average daily population was 854, meaning that roughly 8.8% of prisoners in the facility were transgender. This is nearly eight times more than the general U.S. transgender population.
The Wisconsin Department of Corrections has intentionally stayed very quiet about the issue. They have used HIPAA as an excuse to conceal information about instances of transgender violence, stating that “HIPAA-related limitations on healthcare” prevent health data from being shared across departments. When state Rep. Bodden requested information about the transgender inmates being housed in women’s prisons, for example, he told IW Features the Department of Corrections denied his requests, citing HIPAA.
And in 2023, when state Rep. Bodden introduced legislation to clearly define “sex” for the purpose of correctly housing prisoners, radical activists smeared the bill as “a tool of genocide and oppression.”
But as Biden and others have noted, it is female prisoners, who are being forced to give up their privacy and safety, who end up paying the price for pro-trans policies like Wisconsin’s. In a separate written testimony, Wisconsin Family Action’s Jack Hoogendyk noted, for example, that allowing trans-identified males into female correctional facilities “could easily put the state in the position of defending its policy against a lawsuit by a guard or inmate who has been sexually assaulted.” He also highlighted that under the current system, “the potential for an attempted sexual assault is high.”
State Rep. Bodden expressed sympathy for the female inmates forced to share spaces with potentially aggressive men. He acknowledged that even though they had made mistakes, “they still deserve respect and dignity.”
