Advancing Transgender EqualityWhy NCTE Cares About the Prison Rape Elimination Act StandardsMay 15, 2012
http://transgenderequality.wordpress.com/2012/05/15/why-ncte-cares-about-the-prison-rape-elimination-act-standards/If you have seen NCTE's Blueprint for Equality, you know that the federal agenda we're working on is both complex and comprehensive. Every issue on the agenda is important. Some of the issues are truly life saving, while others are simply necessary steps to full equality. All of it is important to some trans people who are facing obstacles to living fully. And one of these issues I'm really proud of working on is the National Standards to Prevent, Detect and Respond to Prison Rape.
In 2003, the Prison Rape Elimination Act (PREA) was passed by Congress and signed by President Bush. The Republican Senate, the Republican House and the Republican President all agreed that, regardless of various positions on corrections and crimes and related issues, in the United States we all agree that sexual assault in prison is unacceptable and must be stopped. A Congressionally appointed commission and the U.S. Department of Justice spent nearly a decade studying the issue and developing national standards to address all aspects of the problem. And NCTE has provided input all along the way.
