This is especially true for trans women , says Jasmine Jones, a formerly incarcerated Black trans woman in California who now works as a legal assistant with the TGI Justice Project . “Speaking as someone who just got out of prison after many years, it’s rough for Black trans women in prison because they treat us like we’re objects," Jones tells Refinery29. "Instead of looking at us as we present ourselves, correctional officers and prison staff look at us as our former selves and use incorrect pronouns, and tear us down psychologically. A lot of times we try to correct them and they call us derogatory names or give us unnecessary patdowns. I’ve witnessed COs setting people up to get assaulted or turning away and letting it happen."