AFPI Files Suit Challenging Washington Policy That Houses Men in Women’s Prison

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WASHINGTON, D.C. — The America First Policy Institute (AFPI) today filed a lawsuit challenging the Washington State Department of Corrections’ policy of housing male inmates who identify as women in the state’s prison for women, a policy the complaint alleges has led to violence, sexual abuse, intimidation, and ongoing fear among female inmates.

The suit was filed on behalf of plaintiffs Fair for All, Inc. and Faith Booher-Smith, a female inmate at the Washington Corrections Center for Women who alleges she was violently attacked by a male inmate transferred into the facility under the challenged policy.

The complaint alleges Washington officials have continued enforcing the policy despite prior incidents, prior litigation, direct complaints, and repeated warning signs that housing men in the women’s facility created a substantial risk of harm. It further alleges that female inmates have been forced to share cells, showers, bathrooms, and other intimate living spaces with male inmates, stripping them of the sex-based protections a women’s prison is supposed to provide.

“A women’s prison is supposed to protect women,” said Leigh Ann O’Neill, chief legal affairs officer at AFPI. “Washington’s policy turned that basic duty on its head. When the state knowingly forces women to live with men in intimate correctional settings — even after assaults, abuse allegations, and repeated warnings — it is violating the women’s constitutional rights.”

The lawsuit asserts that Washington’s policy violates the Eighth Amendment’s prohibition on cruel and unusual punishment and the Fourteenth Amendment’s guarantee of equal protection. It argues that female inmates are being subjected to foreseeable and preventable harm while the state prioritizes accommodations for male inmates who identify as women over the safety, privacy, and dignity of the women already housed there.

“Fairness begins with telling the truth,” said Monica Harris, executive director of Fair for All. “Women in custody are wholly dependent on the state for their safety. When officials ignore reality, ignore repeated warnings, and ignore the women living with the consequences, the law has to step in. No woman should be told that her safety, privacy, and dignity matter less because the state prefers ideology to common sense.”

The complaint describes the August 7, 2025, attack on Booher-Smith and alleges that prison officials had advance notice of the risks posed by certain transferred male inmates, including through prior complaints and litigation. It also alleges ongoing harm to additional Fair for All members at the facility; the nonprofit is involved as a plaintiff to advocate for an entire class of women who are threatened.

AFPI previously called on Washington officials to revoke the policy after Booher-Smith’s assault, warning that sex-denying correctional policies were putting female inmates in danger.

“This case is about state power and state responsibility,” O’Neill added. “Washington is making incarcerated women in its custody victims of a bad experiment, knowing full well what the consequence of their ideological scheme would be.”