Prison officials must treat an inmate's gender identity condition just as they would treat any other medical or mental health condition, the Justice Department said in a court filing Friday. The Southern Poverty Law Center in February filed a lawsuit against Georgia Department of Corrections officials on behalf of Ashley Diamond, a transgender woman. The lawsuit says prison officials have failed to provide adequate treatment for Diamond's gender dysphoria, a condition that causes a person to experience extreme distress because of a disconnect between the birth sex and gender identity. Prison officials must treat an inmate's gender identity condition just as they would treat any other medical or mental health condition, according to a Justice Department ruling in the case of transgender inmate Ashley Diamond . A photo of Diamond compared to her Department of Corrections mugshot shows the drastic difference without maintaining treatment . The Justice Department filed a brief in the case Friday saying it's not taking a position on the accuracy of Diamond's claims, but reminding prison officials that the Eighth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution requires them to provide inmates with individualized assessment and care for the condition. Department of Corrections spokeswoman Gwendolyn Hogan wrote in an email that the agency doesn't comment on pending litigation. While similar cases have been brought in other courts, Justice Department officials said this is the first time the agency has gotten involved in one of these cases. That action signals this administration's commitment to protecting the interests of transgender people in this context and sends a message to state officials that the federal government has taken a clear position on the substantive legal issues in the case, said Georgia State University law professor Russell Covey. 'If Georgia disagrees, that sort of holds out the possibility of some future legal conflict between the state and the federal government,' he said. 'It's a kind of shot across the bow.' Diamond, who's 36, has identified as female since she was a child and began hormone therapy when she was 17, the lawsuit says. Diamond says she has been subject to ridicule and even sexual assault while behind bars . That gave her full breasts, a feminine shape, softer skin and a feminine appearance. Only inmates identified as transgender during their initial intake screenings are eligible for gender dysphoria treatment under Georgia Department of Corrections policy, but the personnel who do those screenings often aren't familiar with the condition, the lawsuit says. Despite having noticeable feminine physical characteristics and telling department staff she was transgender and receiving hormone therapy, Diamond was not evaluated for gender dysphoria and wasn't referred for treatment and her hormone therapy was halted, the lawsuit says. Though medical personnel subsequently evaluated her and determined she had gender dysphoria and that hormone therapy and female gender expression were medically necessary, department officials refused to authorize the treatment, the lawsuit says. So-called freeze-frame policies, that only allow inmates the level of treatment that they received before imprisonment and that allow no treatment for those who weren't initially classified as suffering from gender dysphoria are unconstitutional, the Justice Department brief says. Such policies violate the Eighth Amendment prohibition of cruel and unusual punishment. Without the hormone treatment for the past three years, Diamond's body has suffered a painful physical transformation back to its masculine state and she has experienced severe mental anguish, the lawsuit says. She has also been subject to ridicule by inmates and prison staff and has been sexually assaulted by inmates because she hasn't been offered safe accommodation, the lawsuit says. Diamond, 36, identifies as a female and has been on hormone therapy since she was 17 . Southern Poverty Law Center staff attorney Chinyere Ezie said in an emailed statement Friday that the Justice Department brief bolsters their arguments. 'Transgender inmates like Ashley have a right to proper medical care,' Ezie said. 'They have a right to protection from violence and abuse and these rights are secured by the U.S. Constitution.' Other courts have ordered hormones, psychotherapy and other treatments for transgender inmates. A federal judge on Thursday ordered California's corrections department to provide a transgender inmate with sex-reassignment surgery, the first time such an operation has been ordered in the state. It was only the second time anywhere in the country that a judge issued an injunction directing a state prison system to provide the surgery, said Ilona Turner, legal director at the Transgender Law Center in Oakland. The previous order in a Massachusetts case was overturned last year and is being appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court.
The Southern Poverty Law Center in February filed a lawsuit against Georgia Department of Corrections officials on behalf of Ashley Diamond, a transgender woman . Diamond, 36, identifies as a woman and has been taking hormones since age 17 . Claims lack of medical attention has harmed her transition process .