70 Towards the Effective Protection of LGBTI Persons Deprived of Liberty Trans men may face additional hurdles imposed by authorities when they ask to be transferred to male sections of a prison, notably on alleged security grounds, as the authorities may deem that their safety cannot be ensured in a male facility. Sometimes labeled as lesbians, trans men are often invisible in the prison system52, and their specific needs are therefore often not met. When the authorities cannot guarantee the protection of LGBTI detainees, and in particular of trans persons, alternatives that will avoid further isolating and marginalising the individuals concerned should be sought, either at the moment of sentencing, when deciding on placement, or in the course of inspecting prison conditions. The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) notably calls for a “differentiated approach” with respect to persons belonging to groups at special risk, including LGBTI persons, which entails “considering the particular vulnerabilities and factors that may increase the risk of acts of violence and discrimination in pretrial detention contexts” and “reducing subjection to pretrial detention by making priority use of alternative measures53”. Good practice (I) Leniency based on vulnerability and alternatives to detention In Israel, a trans man sentenced to 15 months in prison for robbery appealed the decision on the grounds that he would have had to serve the entire duration of his sentence in solitary confinement, in accordance with Israel Prison Service regulations. The Supreme Court found that additional leniency was appropriate given the circumstances and reduced the sentence to ten months, stating that the harsh prison conditions in solitary confinement constituted a mitigating factor54. In Argentina, a trans woman who was detained in a male prison Trans men and other trans-masculine persons tend to be generally speaking less visible in reports and data than lesbians, gays or trans women. See Independent Expert on protection against violence and discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity, A/HRC/38/43, 11 May 2018, para. 42, p. 10. 53 Inter-American Commission on Human Rights. Rapporteurship on the Rights of Persons Deprived of Liberty. Report on measures aimed at reducing the use of pretrial detention in the Americas, OEA/ Ser.L/V/II, July 2017, 136. 54 http://www.timesofisrael.com/supreme-court-rules-leniency-for-transgender-prisoner/ 52