The legal team of a transgender woman incarcerated in Minnesota on Thursday announced she will be transferred to a women’s prison as part of a landmark settlement with the state’s Department of Corrections. The settlement also guarantees affirmative medical care and appropriate housing for other trans prisoners.

Christina Lusk, 57, sued the Minnesota Department of Corrections (DOC) last year when they denied her gender-affirming medical care and housed her in a men’s prison after she pled guilty to a drug charge in 2019. Lusk came out as transgender and started hormone replacement therapy in 2008, and legally changed her name in 2018. At the time of her arrest the following year, she was consulting with doctors regarding gender-affirming surgery at the time of her arrest.

As part of its settlement, the DOC agreed to move Lusk from MCF Moose Lake, a men’s prison facility to MCF Shakopee, a women’s facility. The DOC also agreed to provide Lusk with an objective third-party medical provider to determine Lusk’s suitability for gender-affirming surgery. If deemed suitable, the DOC agreed to pay for the treatment and cover out-of-pocket expenses after her release from prison if certain conditions are met, such as obtaining health insurance. The DOC also agreed to abide by the World Professional Association for Transgender Health’s (WPATH) standards of care for other trans inmates, and contract with a WPATH certified health care provider to provide training and support.

Lusk was in represented in her suit by lawyers from Gender Justice and Robins Kaplan LLC.

“As part of settling the lawsuit and in accordance with the DOC’s new transgender policy, the DOC has agreed to provide [Lusk] access to a transgender healthcare specialist to determine if gender-affirming surgery is medically necessary,” the DOC said in a statement. “The DOC will also assist her in obtaining surgery if the specialist determines it is necessary.”

“With this settlement, the Department of Corrections takes an important and necessary step toward fulfilling its responsibilities to the people in its care,” Jess Braverman, legal director for Gender Justice, said in a statement. “Thanks to Christina Lusk’s willingness to speak out, transgender people in custody will now have expanded access to the housing and health care they need, and the legal protections they deserve.”