Washington state, on the US Pacific coast, is coming under pressure over its prison policy. The US Justice Department has announced an investigation into the Washington Corrections Center for Women in Gig Harbor. At issue is whether female prisoners are being adequately protected when biologically male inmates who identify as women are housed in a women’s prison.
The investigation is being conducted under the Civil Rights of Institutionalized Persons Act (CRIPA), which allows the federal government to examine possible systemic rights violations in state institutions. Assistant Attorney General Harmeet Dhillon said in a letter to Governor Bob Ferguson that there was information suggesting female inmates had not been adequately protected from sexual and physical violence, harassment, voyeurism and intimidation. The allegations concern transgender inmates who were born male and transferred to the women’s prison.
The inquiry follows several complaints and legal challenges against prison authorities. Particular attention has focused on a lawsuit brought by the Foundation Against Intolerance & Racism together with inmate Faith Booher-Smith. It accuses the authorities of maintaining their housing policy despite known risks. Booher-Smith says she was attacked by a transgender inmate in August 2025.
The lawsuit, supported by the America First Policy Institute, depicts a facility in which female prisoners are required to share intimate spaces such as cells, showers and toilets with biological men. The plaintiffs argue that this exposed women to foreseeable dangers. They say the state violated its duty to protect them and ignored warnings about the possible consequences.
Scrutiny Beyond Washington
The investigation is part of a broader effort by the Trump administration. On 26 March 2026, the US Justice Department announced similar investigations in California and Maine. Those inquiries also concern the housing of biologically male transgender inmates in women’s prisons and whether the rights of female inmates are being violated as a result.
In Washington, investigators want to determine in particular whether prisoners have been denied constitutional protection from “cruel and unusual punishment”. They will also examine how authorities responded, or failed to respond, to allegations of sexual assault, harassment, voyeurism and intimidation.
The Washington State Department of Corrections said it would cooperate with federal authorities. At the same time, the department noted that it was currently facing lawsuits from both sides of the debate. It said its goal remained to ensure the safety of all prisoners and comply with legal requirements.
Women’s Rights Versus Gender Identity
The case exemplifies a conflict that has occupied the United States for years. Critics of existing rules argue that women’s prisons should remain reserved for biological women. They point to physical differences between men and women as well as the right of female prisoners to protected private spaces.
Supporters of the current practice, by contrast, stress the particular risks faced by transgender people in prison. Transgender women, they argue, are often exposed to violence and sexual abuse in men’s prisons. For that reason, they say, gender identity must be taken into account in housing decisions.
The American Civil Liberties Union of Washington sharply criticized the investigation, describing it as part of a federal campaign targeting transgender people. In its view, existing federal and state laws already require individual decisions on the housing of transgender inmates.
The outcome of the investigation remains open. Its significance, however, extends far beyond a single prison. According to the US Justice Department, about 1,200 of the nearly 156,000 federal prisoners identified as transgender in 2021. Later reports put the broader number of transgender prisoners at around 2,200.
As the figures rise, pressure is growing on politicians and courts to redefine the boundary between the safety interests of female prisoners and the rights of transgender inmates.