A Minnesota transgender woman serving a prison sentence on a drug charge has successfully filed a lawsuit against the State Department of Corrections for discrimination and will be transferred to a women’s facility.
Christina Lusk, 56, is also receiving $495,000 in monetary compensation and vaginoplasty as she is sent to a women-only facility in Shakopee this week after alleging sexual and verbal abuse at a men-only facility.
Lusk, who is legally recognized as a woman, came out as transgender 14 years ago, began hormone therapy, and legally changed her name in 2018. The following year, she pleaded guilty to a drug possession charge.
The settlement also promises that Lusk will receive further gender-affirming health care and strengthen its policies to protect transgender inmates.
“This journey has brought extreme challenges and I have endured so much. I hope no one has to go through the same circumstances. I trusted my faith and never gave up hope. I can truly say that I am a strong, proud transgender woman, and my name is Christina Lusk,” she said in a statement.
Christina Lusk, 56, has filed a lawsuit against the state corrections department seeking $50,000 in monetary compensation because she was assigned to the men’s prison and did not have gender-affirming surgery
Paul Schnell, Minnesota’s DOC Commissioner, said the state is “constitutionally required” to treat gender dysphoria and will do so for Lusk, according to Fox 9.
“Based on the facts of this particular case, the detainee now has access to the medical care she needs, deserves it and we are legally obligated to provide it,” he said in a statement.
A corrections department press release about the settlement includes promises that inmates who do not conform to gender will be placed in facilities that match their gender identity.
They will grant those requests “unless the requested placement would place an increased risk of physical or sexual harm to that person or those housed in the preferred facility.”
Everyone must come together in unity and embrace positive change. I believe we’ve taken a big step towards empowering people to express who they really are, and bring some sort of peace and happiness into their lives,” added Lusk.
Jess Braverman, an attorney for the Gender Justice group, which represents Lusk along with the Minneapolis law firm of Robins Kaplan, sees the settlement as a positive step.
Minnesota was the first state in the country to expressly protect transgender people in our anti-discrimination laws. But sometimes it feels like we’re the last ones to get it right. I think this goes a long way in showing Minnesota progress,” she said in a statement.
“We’re delivering on that promise and we’re going to give trans people the dignity they deserve, whether they’re in an institutional setting, whether they’re in prison or not.”
Lusk, of Minneapolis, came out as transgender 14 years ago, began human therapy, and legally changed her name in 2018. The following year, she pleaded guilty to a drug possession charge
Lusk will be sent to a women-only facility in Shakopee (pictured) this week after alleging sexual and verbal abuse at a men-only facility
Braverman had said her client was unsafe in Moose Lake.
‘She’s a woman and suddenly she’s put in a men’s institution. She’s in a locked cell with a bunch of men, and she’s really exposed to harassment and violence in that environment,” Braverman said.
While in jail, Lusk was also denied gender-confirming surgery by corrections officers — despite doctors approving the procedure before she was incarcerated, the lawsuit says. She will be released in 2024.
Lusk had been seeking a vaginoplasty since her incarceration, but DOC Medical Director James Amsterdam decided she should not have the genital surgery while in prison, but could “continue it after release,” the lawsuit said.
Lusk wrote in the complaint, “I have been diagnosed with severe gender dysphoria. I have attempted suicide four times due to my severe anxiety caused by my GD and self-mutilation. My mental capacity is under control and I am able to make good decisions regarding surgery.
‘I have messages of support from my GP, my gender specialist, my therapist and my psychiatrist. Only two letters are needed for an operation, but I go further than necessary.’
The corrections department’s move to keep Lusk in a men’s prison and deny her surgery is unconstitutional and a violation of her human rights, according to the lawsuit.
While in prison, Lusk was also denied gender-confirming surgery by corrections officers — despite doctors approving the procedure before she was incarcerated, the lawsuit says
Lusk, who is legally recognized as a woman, has requested a transfer from the men’s facility in Moose Lake (pictured) to the women’s prison in Skakopee
Christina Lusk is legally and socially recognized as a woman – including by the state of Minnesota. Yet the Minnesota DOC treats Ms. Lusk as a male simply because she is transgender,” the lawsuit said.
Lusk has been reprimanded for having breasts and wearing women’s clothing, but also berated for not wearing a bra while her bras were in the wash, the lawsuit alleges.
Lusk filed the first of two complaints with the Human Rights Ministry in early 2020. She claimed prison staff put her in a room with seven men, required her to change and use the men’s bathroom, and called her by her old name.
Both requests to be moved were rejected without explanation, according to the lawsuit.
Robins Kaplan lawyer Rebecca Bact told the Star Tribune that her firm is standing by Lusk because she “deserves good housing, health care and a dignified existence without discrimination.”
“Transgender people disproportionately experience abuse and harassment in state institutions, including prisons, prisons, schools, healthcare facilities and more,” Braverman told the newspaper.
“Anyone in custody deserves protection from violence and harassment,” she continued. “We need our systems, like the [Minnesota] Department of Corrections (DOC), do better now to protect all vulnerable groups, including transgender people.’