Overview
- The Justice Department notified Governor Bob Ferguson on May 19 that it has launched a federal investigation of the Washington Corrections Center for Women in Gig Harbor to determine whether the state engaged in a pattern or practice of constitutional violations.
- Investigators will examine allegations that housing people assigned male at birth who identify as female led to sexual assaults, rape, voyeurism, sexual intimidation, and other harms that may amount to a deprivation of Eighth Amendment protections.
- The Civil Rights Division opened the review under the Civil Rights of Institutionalized Persons Act, and it says it will either close the probe or seek remedies and work with the state if it finds systemic violations.
- The DOJ has also created a national initiative to collect information about men housed in women’s jails and prisons and is operating a hotline and email for tips and complaints.
- Washington’s Department of Corrections said it will cooperate with investigators while continuing to defend parallel litigation; civil‑rights groups stress the need for individualized placement decisions for transgender inmates and safety for women behind bars.