By C1 Staff
ATLANTA — After coming under scrutiny for treatment of its transgender inmate population, the Georgia Department of Corrections is answering questions about its policies.
The DOC said it does not currently segregate inmates according to sexual orientation or gender identity, reports 11alive.
“The factors considered in determining offender housing are their security classification, mental health and medical needs,” the DOC told the news station.
The housing policy was recently reviewed and updated in April 2015.
The DOC said that it works to eliminate rapes and/or sexual assaults through training strategies, investigating allegations and taking appropriate action on founded allegations.
“The Department has established a zero tolerance policy for all forms of sexual abuse and enforces said policy by ensuring all its supervision functions comply with best practices and align with Prison Rape Elimination Act (PREA) standards,” the DOC said.
The DOC said it does not have plans at this time to reevaluate its housing policy when it comes to transgender inmates, and instead takes the housing of each inmate on a case-by- case basis.
The DOC has been under fire after Ashley Diamond, a transgender woman serving time for a burglary charge, claimed she was raped and abused while being housed in a male prison.