Dear Friends of FAIR,
FAIR was founded on the principle that equal protection isn’t a principle that applies only to some people in some settings. It applies to everyone, including women who are incarcerated and wholly dependent on the state for their safety. That is the conviction behind FAIR’s decision to file suit this week against the Washington State Department of Corrections (WSDC).
This is a significant moment for our organization and for the women at the center of this fight. The lawsuit, filed in partnership with the America First Policy Institute, alleges that the WSDC’s policy of housing male inmates who identify as women in the state’s women’s facility has subjected female inmates to violence, sexual abuse, intimidation, and ongoing fear. Fair For All filed alongside co-plaintiff Faith Booher-Smith, a female inmate at the facility who alleges she was violently attacked by a male inmate transferred there under this policy.
Our complaint alleges that Washington officials continued enforcing this policy despite prior incidents, prior litigation, and direct complaints from women in their custody. Female inmates have been forced to share cells, showers, bathrooms, and other intimate living spaces with male inmates — stripped of the sex-based protections a women’s facility is supposed to provide. The lawsuit asserts that WSDC’s policy violates the Eighth Amendment’s prohibition on cruel and unusual punishment and the Fourteenth Amendment’s guarantee of equal protection.
Women in custody have no choice about where they live or who they live with. They depend entirely on the state for their safety. When the state knowingly places women at risk and ignores repeated warnings, the Constitution requires accountability. These women have no voice in the ordinary sense. They can’t organize, they can’t speak to the press, they can’t walk away. What they can do is have an organization stand with them in court, and that’s what FAIR is doing.
This isn’t a debate about policy preferences. A woman was attacked, officials had been warned, but they continued the policy anyway. The only question here is whether the state intends to honor its constitutional obligations. Equal protection under the law is the foundation of FAIR’s work. We believe constitutional rights are not selective. The same Fourteenth Amendment that protects people from race-based discrimination, viewpoint discrimination, and unequal treatment in education protects incarcerated women from being knowingly exposed to foreseeable harm by the state.
Since filing our complaint, we have had direct conversations with attorneys in the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) about this case, and those conversations have produced a significant development: the DOJ has invited FAIR to formally request a Statement of Interest in our Washington litigation.
This matters enormously. A Statement of Interest is a formal filing in which the federal government provides a court with its recommended framework for evaluating the constitutional claims at stake. It signals that the federal government has a direct interest in how the law is interpreted, and that signal carries substantial weight with judges.
The DOJ has announced investigations into similar policies at women’s correctional facilities in California and Maine, and FAIR’s Washington case presents the same constitutional questions. A Statement of Interest by the DOJ would extend the government’s constitutional framework to our litigation and strengthen the legal foundation for the women we represent. We are preparing that request now and will keep you informed as this process moves forward.
This case reflects the essence of who we are and what FAIR stands for. Equal protection isn’t a partisan value; it’s an American one, and this litigation is proof of that conviction in action.
Litigation like this is only possible because of the support of people who believe, as we do, that civil rights belong to everyone. If you are able to contribute to FAIR’s advocacy efforts, please consider making a donation today. Every contribution directly supports our ability to defend and protect Americans whose rights are most at risk.
With gratitude,
Monica Harris
Executive Director, FAIR
The Body-Mind Connection: Rethinking How Medicine Approaches Adolescent Development
Mood swings, difficulty focusing, disrupted sleep, irregular periods are all hallmarks of adolescence and not necessarily signs of disorder. Yet antidepressant prescriptions for teens have risen 66% in six years, ADHD diagnoses now affect more than 6 million children, and hormonal contraception is routinely prescribed to teenage girls for symptoms that may reflect normal development. Join FAIR and Dr. Kendra Kautz, DC on Wednesday, May 6th, 4pm PT / 7pm ET, for a candid conversation about what parents are often not told before a prescription is written and what questions they have every right to ask. Drawing on real cases and peer-reviewed research, this webinar will explore the physiological context behind adolescent symptoms and ask what informed consent should really mean before a family agrees to a prescription that could change a developing brain.
FAIR in Conversation is Back!
FAIR in Conversation has relaunched with a new monthly format built for this moment. We’re leaning away from books and into the issues themselves: the debates, decisions, and developments that are defining what fairness, free speech, and equal dignity mean in America, and beyond, right now.
Each session will center on a pressing topic of the day, drawing on a curated mix of articles, book summaries, short essays, podcasts, films, and other multimedia resources to ground the conversation before opening the floor for discussion.
Sessions will be virtual, open to all FAIR members, and designed to be as accessible as they are substantive. You don’t need to have read anything in advance. Just bring your curiosity, your willingness to listen, and your commitment to engage in good faith.
These are exactly the conversations America needs now, and we are committed to modeling them. Sessions will run monthly from April 29th to September 23rd. We hope you’ll join us!
FAIR Educators Alliance 2025-2026
Join the FAIR Educators Alliance for the 2025–2026 school year to equip PK–12 educators with the knowledge, strategies, and community support they need to foster schools that are more enriching and free from bias for students and educators.
Each monthly gathering will open with updates and presentations from FAIR staff, fellows, Chapter Leaders, and occasional guest speakers. Together, we’ll explore strategies to support educators, communities, and local chapters—and to advance positive change at the local, regional, and national levels.
Following the presentations, participants will have space for open-forum discussions to connect, seek advice, and coordinate on pressing issues in their schools. Breakout rooms will be divided into PK-6 and 7-12 grade levels with experienced teachers facilitating those conversations.
Meetings: First Thursday of each month at 7 PM ET via Zoom Duration: 1 hour
Note to readers: We have paused the FAIR News podcast. If you prefer listening, rather than reading these newsletters, an audio version is available directly on the Substack app. Thank you for tuning in!
Thank you!
I think one argument is that these men are at risk from other men, and the response is that they should of course be kept safe from other prisoners. But it's not the responsibility of the women prisoners to fix this, but of the state. They'd be safer out of prison, too, but we don't just, as a society, decide we should do that...
I believe (maybe someone can verify or tell me I'm wrong) that there was an idea originally of having a special area in the men's prisons, but that Chase Strangio and others did not want this (although some prisoners thought it was fine).
It’s very very true this article. And I wish they would look into Lowell CI in Florida DOC, for the woman there as well. It’s horrendous what those women have to deal with daily, and… nightly. (And side note, what does the one comment mean — they’d be safer out of prison, too?) anyways wrong is wrong no matter how anyone chooses to frame it.