Pride Month: Kat, 2020 Cohort

“Pride month provides a time to re-shine a spotlight on all the work that has been done to support the community and show prisoners the allyship we work to create across the establishment.”

“I’m Kat, an Ambassador of the Unlocked Graduates Leadership Development Programme, current Mentoring Prison Officer (MPO) for HMP Wormwood Scrubs and HMP/YOI Isis and a member of the LGBTQIA+ community. I had many queer friends and was surrounded by allies and advocates for the community when I ‘came out’. Like many, it took me a long time to be comfortable in my own sexuality, with the fear of judgement and rejection weighing heavily.

Working as an LGBTQIA+ prison officer in a men’s prison brought a new understanding to an often forgotten and marginalised group within prisons, where many themselves have been marginalised and failed by society.

Prisoners in the men’s estate often live in a hyper masculine world in which machoism is teamed with safety, security, and being part of the in-group and being LGBTQIA+ is seen as risk factor. Sharing your sexuality as a LGBTQIA+ prisoner is often advised against for safety. This strips away even more of their identity, labelling it as risk factor and potentially reinforcing pre-conceived negative connotations of their sexual identity.

The LGBTQIA+ community is overrepresented within the prison population, particularly amongst women, and it is likely that the statistics are under-representative of the actual figure. Statistically those within the community have higher rates of mental health issues, specifically depression and are twice as likely to have thought about or attempted suicide.

To combat this challenge, I took the opportunity to work as an LGBTQIA+ Rep on my wing. This gave me the opportunity to work alongside staff and prisoners to raise awareness, hold deep and meaningful discussions around what it means to be an ally, a member of the community and had several prisoners disclose their sexuality to me. I am proud that as an MPO I am continuing that work towards a more inclusive culture in our prisons. Ensuring the visibility of allies and that support is in place for these individuals is pivotal, not only during pride month but throughout the year.

Pride month provides a time to re-shine a spotlight on all the work that has been done to support the community and show prisoners the allyship we work to create across the establishment. Whether that be through wearing rainbow bands on epaulettes, LGBTQIA+ badges, creating fact sheets/quizzes or holding space for difficult conversations and allowing for hard questions to be asked. Visibility, proximity, and education enable us to slowly break down the walls of homophobia that are so often built in an unquestioned belief and prejudicial misunderstanding.

Prisons, like the rest of society, are not free from homophobia. Officers can face or witness discrimination and be exposed to closed-minded views. However, you are not alone. There is a huge LGBTQIA+ support network within HMMPS, ‘Pride in Prison & Probation (PiPP)’. This is a member-led support network that provides, one-to-one support, provides informative materials and toolkits, shares best practise, and supports in delivering awareness training. 

A recent survey of Unlocked’s participants showed that 96 per cent of those on Unlocked’s Leadership Development Programme agreed that their MPO championed diversity and inclusion. As an Unlocked Graduates participant, you have access to both HMPPS avenues of support including your Line Manager, Occupational Health service, your Employee Assistance programme, Equalities Representatives and your Governor, as well as a Mentoring Prison Officer provided by Unlocked who can signpost you to further support.

As we mark Pride across the UK, including in prisons, I hope you’ll join me in supporting LGBTQIA+ prisoners and building a prison service for all.”