Trump administration reverses protections for LGBTQ+ inmates from sexual violence

The Department of Justice under Donald Trump has stopped enforcing safeguards aimed at preventing sexual assault against LGBTQ+ inmates. A recent memo, obtained by NPR, instructed prison inspectors not to judge facilities based on LGBTQ+ safety standards outlined in the Prison Rape Elimination Act (PREA). This change affects federal and state prisons, juvenile detention centers, and immigration detention facilities.

The memo follows Trump's executive order in January that denied the recognition of transgender individuals, prohibiting federally funded facilities from accommodating inmates according to their gender identity. This included barring trans women from womens prisons, while leaving trans men unaffected in mens facilities.

Passed unanimously in 2003, the PREA was designed to analyze the prevalence and impact of prison rape across all U.S. institutions and provide resources to protect vulnerable inmates, particularly those who are LGBTQ+ or do not conform to traditional gender norms. Guidelines from 2012 required prison officials to consider the safety and health of transgender or intersex inmates individually when assigning housing or programming, including regular reassessments and giving weight to the inmates own views on their safety.

Trumps order explicitly targeted these protections, directing federal agencies to ensure that males are not placed in female detention facilities and to amend related regulations in the Code of Federal Regulations and guidance related to the Americans with Disabilities Act.

There are roughly 5,000 incarcerated transgender individuals in the U.S., representing about 0.4 percent of the national prison population. Federal data shows approximately 1,500 trans women, making up 15 percent of women in federal prisons, and around 750 trans men among 144,000 men in federal facilities.

Research indicates that transgender inmates face significantly higher risks of sexual victimization than the general prison population. Federal statistics reveal transgender prisoners are ten times more likely to experience sexual assault, with a February report showing over half of nearly 300 surveyed trans inmates had been sexually assaulted during their current sentences. More than 31 percent cited violence from other prisoners as the main cause of feeling unsafe.

Support is available for survivors of sexual violence through the National Sexual Assault Hotline, which provides free and confidential assistance 24/7.

Author: Natalie Monroe