often denied access to the hormones that they take. Transgender inmates in some prisons are able to form communities with each other or with cisgender inmates, and these relationships both help prevent violence and help support those who have experienced it. Studies have been reported in which men have bonded together to prevent a transgender woman in their facility from being sexually assaulted, and to help transgender women get access to medication they needed. These groups sometimes commit violent acts to defend or avenge a friend who has been hurt, as in the case in a New York men's prison when a group of men killed another man who had attacked a young female transgender inmate; however, despite this violence, it is evident that transgender women sometimes form strong and protective bonds with other inmates that are taken away in solitary confinement. In fact, this is sometimes the purpose of segregating inmates. Despite all this, some transgender women, just like some cisgender women, do in fact request to be put into solitary confinement for their own safety. This is not the norm, however, and most women find it to be a painful and harmful experience. References Forensic psychology Imprisonment and detention of women in the United States Prisoners' and ex-prisoners' rights Women's rights in the United States