Tratamiento penitenciario de las mujeres transexuales en el Ecuador

The 2008 Constitution of Ecuador is recognized for being a guarantor of human rights, which can be invoked by anyone without any type of discrimination, either based on sexual orientation or gender identity. However, these rights are not consistent with the State's selection of the social rehabilitation centre for the execution of the custodial sentence of transsexual women, who are forced to serve their sentences in men's prisons. This entails violations of their rights to personal integrity, identity and the principle of equality and non-discrimination. This article will analyse the conditions of triple vulnerability to which trans women deprived of liberty are exposed (for being part of the LGBTIQ+ community, for identifying as women and for being deprived of liberty), and the regulatory framework that protects them. Besides, it is going to be analyzed the way of the sex-based selection system implemented by justice operators institutionalizes gender violence.