VICTORY: Department of Justice Releases National Standards to End Prison Rape and Abuse
http://transgenderequality.wordpress.com/2012/05/17/victory-department-of-justice-releases-national-standards-to-end-prison-rape-and-abuse/Today, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) released National Standards to Prevent, Detect, and Respond to Prison Rape. The Standards include specific provisions that will work to protect transgender and gender nonconforming inmates in the fight end sexual abuse in prisons. These standards were built on recommendations provided by NCTE and several allied advocates.
Specific provisions to address abuse towards transgender people and those with intersex conditions include:
Requiring a case-by-case consideration for housing in a male or female facility that is not based on genital status, meaning more trans women will be housed with other women.
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New Rules Target Sexual Assault Epidemic Facing LGBT Inmates
Advocates praise the new Justice Department standards, though questions remain about separate rules for immigration detention, to be finalized by the Department of Homeland Security.
BY Andrew Harmon
May 17 2012 1:46 PM ET
http://www.advocate.com/politics/washington-dc/2012/05/17/new-rules-target-sexual-assault-epidemic-among-lgbt-inmatesWASHINGTON — The Obama administration's Department of Justice has released new rules to combat the epidemic of sexual assault in the nation's prison system, a crisis that disproportionately affects LGBT inmates, as the agency specifically addressed Thursday.
The new rules coincide with a presidential memorandum mandating that the Prison Rape Elimination Act, a law passed by Congress with overwhelming bipartisan support nearly a decade ago, applies to all U.S. correctional and detention facilities (the Justice Department has been finalizing rules pertaining to the law over the past several years).
"Sexual violence, against any victim, is an assault on human dignity and an affront to American values," President Obama wrote. "To advance the goals of PREA, we must ensure that all agencies that operate confinement facilities adopt high standards to prevent, detect, and respond to sexual abuse."
