TLC client Athena Cadence takes on SF Jail’s Abusive Housing Policy
On June 1, 2016, after months of abusive treatment while in custody in a San Francisco jail, Athena Cadence decided to take matters into her own hands. She declared a hunger strike, refusing to eat until the San Francisco Sheriff allowed transgender women to be housed with other women and searched by women officers.
Her hunger strike lasted 64 days, earning headlines in outlets ranging from the San Francisco Examiner to Mother Jones, and ending only with her release from custody on August 3.
