SACRAMENTO, CA — This week, Independent Women Ambassador and Founder of Woman II Woman Amie Ichikawa testified in support of SB 311 before the California Senate Public Safety Committee. The bill, sponsored by Senator Shannon Grove, would grant necessary protections to incarcerated women in California. SB 311 would require the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation to prohibit sex offenders from transferring from men’s to women’s prisons, which was one of the devastating consequences of SB 132. SB 132, also known as the Transgender Respect, Agency, and Dignity Act, was signed into law by Governor Newsom in 2020 and opened the door for male prisoners to self-identify as female and transfer into women’s prisons, as well as explicitly recognizing the sexual impact on females by expanding distribution and access to condoms in female state prisons.
As a survivor of sexual abuse andformerly incarcerated in Central California Women’s Facility (CCWF), Ichikawa saw firsthand the impact of SB 132 and what goes on inside women’s prisons—ground zero for neglect and abuse. While serving five years at CCWF, Ichikawa was housed with convicted men who identified as women. Her story was first told by Independent Women Features (IW Features), the grassroots storytelling and original journalism arm of Independent Women, through its “Cruel & Unusual Punishment: The Male Takeover of Female Prisons” series. By highlighting the stories of women directly harmed by policies like SB 132, Independent Women has been at the forefront of the fight to protect women’s spaces in prisons.
Amie Ichikawa’s legislative testimony in support of incarcerated women’s safety, dignity, and privacy in California.
Since returning to the free world, Amie founded Woman II Woman and is now using her voice to advocate for the incarcerated women who have been silenced by policies allowing men to self-identify into women’s prisons, threatening their dignity, privacy, and safety.
On March 31, 2025, Amie appeared on Fox @ Night to discuss the implications of SB 311:
“Senate Bill 311 is a commonsense move authored by Senator Shannon Grove and co-authored by Senator Meghan Dahle. It establishes the guardrails that were left out of SB132, by prohibiting sex offenders from transferring from men’s to women’s prisons. I am a proud sponsor of SB 311, and I am testifying in support of this effort as a formerly incarcerated sexual assault survivor who knows all too well the horror that the silenced women in California’s prisons are facing 24 hours a day.”
SB 311 did not pass out of committee.
Independent Women also released a report titled “Cruel and Unusual Punishment,” which examines federal and state law regarding the push to allow trans-identifying men into women’s prisons and provides specific policy recommendations to restore equality for incarcerated women.
See Amie’s story and more accounts of the women silenced behind bars below:
- Amie’s Story | Exposing ‘Trans Supremacy’ Inside Women’s Prisons
- Hector’s Story | Prison Guard Resigns After ‘Immoral, Dangerous’ Trans Policies
- Cathleen’s Story | Inmate Loses Parole After Objecting to Trans Prison Policy
- Inmate in Women’s Federal Prison Alleges Brutal Sexual Assault By Trans-Identifying, Testosterone-Hopped Female
- Seattle Jail Nurse Quits After ‘Unsafe’ Trans Policies Force Female Inmates to Share Space With Predatory Men
Direct media inquiries and booking requests to [email protected].
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