A federal law since 2003, the Prison Rape Elimination Act (PREA) was created to eliminate sexual abuse in confinement. For statistical data on the incidence of sexual abuse in various forms of confinement, see all Data and Statistics in the PRC library. Read more about the act in the library and find a link to the law here.

In addition to providing federal funding for research, programs, training, and technical assistance to address the issue, the legislation mandated the development of national standards. Information about the standards development process can be found in the PRC library. The National Prison Rape Elimination Commission's standards are available here.

The final version of the standards was issued by the Department of Justice on May 17, 2012. This website will provide information on implementation, compliance, and enforcement and this page will be updated when the PRC has done a thorough review of the standards.  

In the meantime, PRC offers the following resources for jurisdictions looking for guidance on how to prepare for compliance with the standards. Authorship and publication information is available on each resource and should be cited appropriately.

1. PREA in Action. The first sites profiled in this series have made significant efforts toward compliance with the anticipated standards. Read here about the basics of readiness.

2. Policy Review and Development. A number of resources in the library can help with the initial development of PREA-related policies.
• Policy Guides
• Prison Rape Elimination Act: Considerations for Policy Review - Adult Prisons and Jails
• Prison Rape Elimination Act: Considerations for Policy Review - Juvenile Corrections
• A Toolkit for Jails 
• A Toolkit for Juvenile Agencies and Facilities
• Staff Sexual Misconduct with Inmates: Policy Development Guide for Sheriffs and Jail Administrators
• Policy Guide for Correctional Administrators: LGBTI Offenders (forthcoming 2012)
• Investigating Allegations of Staff Sexual Misconduct with Offenders: Investigative Policies

• Addressing Sexual Abuse of Youth in Custody: Policy Development

3. Training and Implementation
• Correctional Officers' Handbook on Identifying and Addressing Sexual Misconduct: Handbook Appendix

• Addressing Staff Sexual Misconduct with Offenders Curriculum (2006)
   
• Investigating Allegations of Staff Sexual Misconduct with Offenders Curriculum (2010)
  Module 1: Objectives Slides
  Module 2: PREA Handouts Slides
  Module 3: State Laws and Investigations  Handouts Slides
  Module 4: Agency Culture  Handouts Slides
  Module 5: Action Planning  Handouts  Slides
  Module 6: Training of Investigators Handouts Slides
  Module 7: Investigative Policy Slides
  Module 8: Operational Practices Slides
  Module 9: Investigative Techniques:  Handouts Slides
  Module 10: Medical Health Care Handouts  Slides
  Module 11: Victimization and Mental Health Care Handouts Slides
  Module 12: Media Strategies Handouts Slides
  Module 13: Role of Prosecutors Handouts Slides
  Module 14: Human Resources Handouts Slides
  Module 15: Legal Liability Slides

• Addressing Sexual Abuse of Youth in Custody
  Module 1 Objectives: Slides
  Module 2 PREA:  Slides  Handouts
  Module 3 Adolescent Development: Slides Handouts
  Module 4 Sexuality:  Slides Handouts
  Module 5 Action Planning: Slides  Handouts
  Module 6 Comprehensive Approach:  Slides
  Module 7 Agency Culture:  Slides Handouts
  Module 8 State Laws: Slides  Handouts
  Module 9 Policy:  Slides
  Module 10 Medical Health Care: Slides Handouts
  Module 11 Victimization and Mental Health Care: Slides Handouts 
  Module 12 Managing Vulnerable Youth: Slides Handouts
  Module 13 Medical and Mental Health: Slides Handouts
  Module 14 Investigating Sexual Abuse of Youth in Custody: Slides Handouts
  Module 15 Prosecuting Sexual Abuse of Youth in Custody: Handouts Slides  
  Module 16 Human Resources: Slides Handouts

• United States Department of Justice Addresses Bullying of Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender Youth

• PREA Toolkit Martyniuk, H. (2010) Pennsylvania Coalition Against Rape (forthcoming)
• Advocate’s manual on meeting the needs of Prison Rape Victims 
• PREA Training for Rape Crisis Counselors

• END SILENCE: Youth Speaking Up about Sexual Abuse in Custody - Five comic books for youth training 
• A Handbook for Youth Workers on how to Identify and Address Sexual Abuse in Juvenile Settings (forthcoming 2012)
• Responding to Inmate on Inmate Sexual Abuse Curriculum (forthcoming 2012)

4. Culture Change
• “Prison Warden Attitudes Toward Prison Rape and Sexual Assault: Findings Since the Prison Rape Elimination Act (PREA)”

• Addressing Sexual Violence in Prisons: A Snapshot of Approaches and Highlights of Innovative Strategies

• Fighting Prison Rape: How to Make Your Facility Safer

• The Impact of Institutional Factors on Officially Reported Sexual Assaults in Prisons

• Possible Solutions for Preventing Inmate Sexual Assault: Examining Wardens’ Beliefs

• Cultural Assessment: Assessing Your Agency's Internal Culture
5. Compliance and Auditing
• Additional information provided about the audit process will be posted on the PREA Resource Center website as soon as it is available from the Department of Justice. Check back here for information and resources to help with compliance and auditing of the standards.