A transgender woman in New Jersey was scheduled to be moved to a women's prison next week after being shuffled among men's facilities for more than a year.

The inmate, identified in court papers as Sonia Doe, filed a lawsuit in August alleging she was harassed by staff and other inmates in men's prisons, where she has been held since March 2018. Attorneys for the state agreed to relocate her to a women's facility as the case made its way through the courts.

But a legal challenge from unions representing corrections officers may delay that move. NJ Advance Media reporter Sean Sullivan told WNYC's Richard Hake that the unions say the state hasn't clarified its policies on the treatment and housing of transgender inmates.

"I think in the relatively near future, you're going to see state prison officials in New Jersey rolling out a much more robust policy document outlining exactly how these folks are supposed to be treated," Sullivan said.

Doe's lawsuit states that only two other transgender inmates are housed at the women's prison, both of whom have undergone gender reassignment surgery. Sullivan has reported that Doe has not yet undergone that surgery.