By Sahar Foladi
A state coroner has noted the “vulnerabilities” of gender diverse people in custody after a Dandenong prisoner took their life.
The 33-year-old, who had previously used male, female and non-binary pronouns, was remanded at Dame Phyllis Frost Centre in July 2023 after setting fire to their Dandenong home unit.
Coroner Simon McGregor found on 16 October that the prisoner “intentionally took their own life” in their cell in DPFC’s Marrmak mental health unit on 2 September 2023.
The prisoner had a chronic high risk of self-harming and suicide, and had been involved in assaults and self-harm acts in Marrmak.
They were given an S4 rating for suicide risk and not under regular observation by staff – which was “reasonable and appropriate given the tone of their recent interactions with staff”, Judge McGregor found.
They had significant prior convictions and a “number of complex diagnoses” including schizoaffective disorder (differential diagnosis of bipolar disorder) borderline personality disorder, PTSD, anti-social personality traits and substance use.
Coroner McGregor highlighted the “vulnerabilities” of gender diverse people face in correctional environments however he made no findings that it contributed to the prisoner’s death.
“In recognition of these vulnerabilities, use of preferred names and preferred pronouns can and should be facilitated by making that information more easily accessible to clinical and custodial staff where possible.”
The Justice Assurance and Review Office (JARO) was implementing improvements since the prisoner’s death – including specialised training for Marrmak staff to manage “complex people in custody” .
One “unresolved remaining issue” remained.
The coroner recommended that Corrections Victoria should consider a process allowing staff to record a person’s gender identity for those identified as transgender, gender diverse or intersex.
“Gender diverse people face unique vulnerabilities in the correctional environment and failure to affirm and support gender identity can be particularly harmful.”
Coroner McGregor noted Corrections Victoria’s submission that accurate information could be difficult since gender could be fluid.
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