Dozens of women at Virginia's Fluvanna Correctional Center were segregated from the general prison population for having short hair, or loose-fitting clothes, or otherwise 'looking gay,' employees at the facility admit.In an effort to prevent sexual encounters between inmates -- which are illegal in Virginia -- prison staff identified those women who fit stereotypes of lesbian appearance and sent them to what guards referred to as 'the butch wing.'
The revelations, reported by the Associated Press, are causing a political uproar, with civil rights groups alleging the prison's policy was unconstitutional. Fluvanna recently discontinued the practice, after some employees raised questions about it.
From AP: Two current guards and one of their former co-workers said targeting masculine-looking inmates was a deliberate strategy by a building manager. Numerous inmates said in letters and interviews that they felt humiliated and stigmatized when guards took them to the separate wing - also referred to by prisoners and guards as the 'little boys wing,''locker room wing' or 'studs wing.'
The two current guards and former guard William Drumheller said Building 5 manager Timothy Back, who is in charge of security and operations for that area, came up with the idea to break up couples by sending inmates to the wing. Gradually, they said, the 60-inmate wing was filled with women targeted because of their appearance. The current employees asked to remain anonymous for fear of losing their jobs.
This is not the first time in recent years that segregation in prisons has been a major issue. In 2005, the Supreme Court overruled a California policy to segregate some black inmates in order to minimize violent incidents in prisons. The Court said the state has to prove, on a case-by-case basis, that it can't keep the peace without segregating inmates by race.
