End racist immigration raids, border profiling and turn backs

End racist immigration raids, border profiling and turn backs

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A South East Asian transgender woman in Villawood Detention Centre has been detained for 11 weeks, denied access to essential medical care including hormones for 8 weeks, under constant visual scrutiny by male guards and living without any privacy or personal space.

“There are four trans women in our unit but they put six male officers inside our unit too. We really feel suffocated.”

After working for years as a flight attendant, discrimination from her employer on the basis of her gender identity led to her unemployment. Upon flying into Australia 10 weeks ago, Border Force agents racially profiled her, detained her and searched her phone. They found ‘sexy videos’ and a listing on an escort website and on that basis placed her in immigration detention pending deportation.

These human rights violations on the part of the Federal Government threaten her dignity, safety, and her life. Suddenly ceasing hormone replacement therapy without medical advice is dangerous.

Placing transgender women in detention is not only psychologically traumatic but puts these women at significant risk of physical and sexual violence.

While in detention, she has experienced sexual violence including having her breasts grabbed and has experienced being unfairly separated from other detainees. Isolation and separation are not a solution.

“We are the only trans women in here, we feel like they don’t know what to do with us, like we are some kind of experiment.”

The Government’s own data demonstrates skewed Border Force profiling of Asian women under 30 years old, in violation of an August 2023 Cabinet decision to end the targeting of Asian migrant sex workers (Rec 20, 21).

Campaign endorsed by:

3CR Community Radio
Action for Public Housing
Asian Migrant Sex Worker Advisory Group
Beyond Bricks and Bars, Trans Decarceration Project
COYOTE, Rhode Island, USA
Decrim WA
Democracy in Colours
Dr Sia Bandarian, Attach Psychology
First Nations Greens
Flat Out
Human Rights Law Centre
Legal Observers NSW
Magandjin People's Pride
Magenta, Western Australia
National Justice Project
NSW Council for Civil Liberties
NSW Young Greens
NTAHC - The Northern Territory AIDS & Hepatitis Council
Pride In Protest
Progressive Therapeutic Collective
Red Centro Apoyolentidades Trans
Refugee Action Coalition
Respect Inc, Queensland
Rising Tide
Scarlet Alliance, Australian Sex Workers Association Inc
Scarlet Alliance lutriwita (Tasmania) Sex Worker Project
Sex Worker Education, Advocacy and Rights, Western Australia - SWEAR -
Sex Workers Action Collective - SWAC -
Sex Workers Outreach Project NSW - SWOP NSW -
Sex Workers Outreach Project, Australia's Capital Territory - SWOP ACT -
Sex Workers Outreach Project, Northern Territory - SWOP NT -
Sex Industry Network, South Australia - SIN -
Smut Club
Socialist Alliance
Softer Media
Southside Justice
The LGBTI Living Well Program - NTAHC
Trans Justice Project
Usyd Queer Action Collective
Usyd Rank and File Action
Vixen, by sex workers, for sex workers, Victoria
World Wellness Group

A South East Asian transgender woman in Villawood Detention Centre has been detained for 11 weeks, denied access to essential medical care including hormones for 8 weeks, under constant visual scrutiny by male guards and living without any privacy or personal space.

“There are four trans women in our unit but they put six male officers inside our unit too. We really feel suffocated.”

After working for years as a flight attendant, discrimination from her employer on the basis of her gender identity led to her unemployment. Upon flying into Australia 10 weeks ago, Border Force agents racially profiled her, detained her and searched her phone. They found ‘sexy videos’ and a listing on an escort website and on that basis placed her in immigration detention pending deportation.

These human rights violations on the part of the Federal Government threaten her dignity, safety, and her life. Suddenly ceasing hormone replacement therapy without medical advice is dangerous.

Placing transgender women in detention is not only psychologically traumatic but puts these women at significant risk of physical and sexual violence.

While in detention, she has experienced sexual violence including having her breasts grabbed and has experienced being unfairly separated from other detainees. Isolation and separation are not a solution.

“We are the only trans women in here, we feel like they don’t know what to do with us, like we are some kind of experiment.”

The Government’s own data demonstrates skewed Border Force profiling of Asian women under 30 years old, in violation of an August 2023 Cabinet decision to end the targeting of Asian migrant sex workers (Rec 20, 21).

Campaign endorsed by:

3CR Community Radio
Action for Public Housing
Asian Migrant Sex Worker Advisory Group
Beyond Bricks and Bars, Trans Decarceration Project
COYOTE, Rhode Island, USA
Decrim WA
Democracy in Colours
Dr Sia Bandarian, Attach Psychology
First Nations Greens
Flat Out
Human Rights Law Centre
Legal Observers NSW
Magandjin People's Pride
Magenta, Western Australia
National Justice Project
NSW Council for Civil Liberties
NSW Young Greens
NTAHC - The Northern Territory AIDS & Hepatitis Council
Pride In Protest
Progressive Therapeutic Collective
Red Centro Apoyolentidades Trans
Refugee Action Coalition
Respect Inc, Queensland
Rising Tide
Scarlet Alliance, Australian Sex Workers Association Inc
Scarlet Alliance lutriwita (Tasmania) Sex Worker Project
Sex Worker Education, Advocacy and Rights, Western Australia - SWEAR -
Sex Workers Action Collective - SWAC -
Sex Workers Outreach Project NSW - SWOP NSW -
Sex Workers Outreach Project, Australia's Capital Territory - SWOP ACT -
Sex Workers Outreach Project, Northern Territory - SWOP NT -
Sex Industry Network, South Australia - SIN -
Smut Club
Socialist Alliance
Softer Media
Southside Justice
The LGBTI Living Well Program - NTAHC
Trans Justice Project
Usyd Queer Action Collective
Usyd Rank and File Action
Vixen, by sex workers, for sex workers, Victoria
World Wellness Group

Demand freedom, dignity and safety for trans women in detention

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