A transgender inmate from Minnesota is being transferred to women's prison, and will be lucky enough to receive a vaginoplasty and $495,000 to settle a discrimination lawsuit.
Christina Lusk will be transferred to a women’s facility next week, marking the first time a Minnesota inmate is moved to a different prison based on gender identity.
The settlement announced last week has indicated she will also receive a vaginoplasty provided by the Minnesota DOC, and it will strengthen its policies regarding transgender inmates.
Lusk was arrested in 2018, serving a sentence until 2024 for a felony drug offence.
She sued the Minnesota DOC last year as it deferred her request for a vaginoplasty, or "bottom surgery."
She began cross-sex hormones in 2009, changing names in 2018, was conferring with doctors around surgical options prior to being arrested.
She had undergone "top surgery" prior to heading to jail and was "on the verge of scheduling" the vaginoplasty.
The inmate filed a grievance after department medical director James Amsterdam determined she should not be allowed to receive genital surgery while incarcerated, however they "could pursue that after release."
The lawsuit alleged she was sexually abused by thee male inmates and demanded she be treated as female and moved to a women's facility.
“Inmates would heckle her, heckle her roommates… call her ‘it,’ that sort of thing,” Gender Justice legal director Jess Braverman said. “And then there were staff who would say things to her, such as, ‘You know, you’re a man in a men’s prison. I’m not going to treat you like a woman. I’m not going to use your proper name and pronouns.'”
Lusk praised the settlement saying it was “appropriate.”
“Everybody needs to come together in unity, and embrace positive change. I believe we have made a big step toward allowing people to express who they truly are, and bring some sort of peace and happiness to their lives."
“This journey has brought extreme challenges, and I have endured so much. My hope is that nobody has to go through the same set of circumstances. I relied on my faith, and I never gave up hope. I can truly say that I am a strong, proud, transgender woman, and my name is Christina Lusk."
In January, Minnesota DOC and 10 other states established a policy that allows inmates to be transferred to facilities matching their gender identity.
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