On June 6, 2021, GLAD joined an amicus (friend of the court) brief in support of Divinity Rios in Rios v. Redding. The brief was signed by Lambda Legal, Dee Farmer, Black & Pink National, Center for Constitutional Rights, Just Detention Center, Muslim Alliance for Sexual and Gender Diversity, National Center for Lesbian Rights, National Center for Transgender Equality, Transgender Law Center, Transgender Legal Defense and Education Fund.

Incarcerated LGBTQ+ people face not only a generally heightened risk of violence and harm but also a disproportionate risk of sexual violence. Prison officials have a constitutional obligation to protect people they incarcerate from sexual violence. As the brief explains, for incarcerated women like Divinity Rios, when the court fails to consider their constitutional rights as defined by Farmer, the courthouse doors are effectively closed to them, and prison officials are allowed to escape liability. This creates an intolerable risk of harm to LGBTQ+ people.

Read the brief.