A cross-dressing gay man, who is fighting for the right to wear a dress in prison, says she never felt like a boy and had she the means, she would have had a sex-change operation long ago.
Jerome Benjamin, aka Jade September, a former sex worker who was jailed in 2013 after confessing to killing a client, has taken the Department of Correctional Services (DCS) to court demanding the right to wear long hair, dresses, make-up and panties.
DCS is opposing the application which is currently being heard in the Western Cape High Court, saying September was jailed as a man and should serve out his 15-year sentence in a male prison.
While in prison, September applied for a sex change operation, which was denied because the operation falls under cosmetic surgery, which the government does not pay for.
“The Applicant was prosecuted and incarcerated as a male. He is biologically and anatomically remains a male,” DCS said.
“The Applicant is legally identified as a male in terms of the Applicant’s identity document.”
In her court application, September says she was first sent to Helderstroom Prison, where she was allowed to grow out her hair, wear dresses and panties, and take part in drama performances and talent shows as a woman.
September says when she was moved to Brandvlei prison in Worcester, things changed, and officials insisted she act like a man.
The court heard that on 7 December last year, following a confrontation with an official, September had attempted to commit suicide.
She claimed officials placed her in a solitary confinement for days where they told her “she could act like a girl”. The matter continues.