According to the findings of a comprehensive national report by the MacArthur Foundation’s Safety and Justice Challenge, LGBTQ people are three times more likely to be incarcerated than the general population and more than twice as likely to be arrested compared to straight people, with rates seemingly even higher among LGBTQ people of color and those with disabilities, reports USA Today.
Among the document’s other key points: LGBTQ individuals, particularly transgender people, experience higher levels of harassment and abuse in prisons, with victimization often perpetrated by staff. Incarcerated LGBTQ youth and adults report high rates of solitary confinement or denial of inclusive health care such as gender-affirming treatment. Lesbian and bisexual women are four times likelier than straight women to be arrested, with emerging evidence indicating transgender women of color experience the highest arrest rates, the study found.