Rally Planned for Imprisoned 16-Year-Old Trans Girl

Earlier this month, a transgender girl in Connecticut was removed from Department of Children and Families' custody and placed into an adult correctional facility, despite the fact that she had not been charged with a crime. DCF claims that it was unable to safely provide care for the teenager, detailing her alleged involvement in a January physical altercation.

Supporters of 16-year-old, identified as Jane Doe to protect her privacy, have scheduled a rally for today outside the state's DCF headquarters in Hartford, Conn. A simultaneous demonstration is to be held outside the New York Administration of Children's Services, and -- according to Mitch Kellaway at his Medium blog -- will be attended by trans activist CeCe McDonald, who was recently released from a Minnesota prison after serving 19 months in a men's jail for her part in a fatal altercation which many believe constituted self-defense.

Last week, Doe told her side of the story, graphically detailing a lifetime of abuse, including being the victim of sexual assault at the hands of DCF staff members.

Currently, DCF is debating whether or not to transfer Doe from York Correctional Facility, a women's prison, to a men's facility.

Today's demonstrators in support of Doe have four specific messages they'd like to convey: They ask that Doe not be transferred to a men's facility; for DCF to remove Doe from York; to transfer her back into an environment that allows Doe access to educational materials and human interaction with people her own age; and for the Connecticut General Assembly to repeal statute 17A-12, which allowed DCF to place this minor in an adult prison without being charged with a crime.

Kellaway interviewed rally organizers Iv Staklo and Al Riccio about their project, "Justice for Jane." The complete interview can be found at his Medium blog.