Trump DOJ rolls back policies protecting LGBTQ+ inmates from sexual violence

Donald Trump's Department of Justice is no longer enforcing protections against sexual violence for LGBTQ+ inmates.

The DOJ recently sent a memo to prison inspectors, obtained by NPR, instructing them not to evaluate detention facilities based on safety standards for LGBTQ+ inmates in the Prison Rape Elimination Act. This applies to both federal and state prisons, as well as juvenile detention centers and immigration detention centers.

The memo follows Trump's January executive order denying the existence of transgender people, which banned any facility that receives federal funding from accommodating trans people based on their gender identities. This included banning trans women inmates from being housed in women's facilities, but did not address trans men nor forbid them from being housed in men's facilities.

Related: Trump will ban trans women from women's prisons by removing trans inmates from rape protections

The PREA was passed unanimously by both parties in Congress in 2003, aiming to “provide for the analysis of the incidence and effects of prison rape in federal, state, and local institutions and to provide information, resources, recommendations and funding to protect individuals from prison rape," while recognizing the "particular vulnerabilities of inmates who are LGBTI or whose appearance or manner does not conform to traditional gender expectations."

Guidelines issued in 2012 required officials who were "deciding whether to assign a transgender or intersex inmate to a facility for male or female inmates, and in making other housing and programming assignments" to "consider on a case-by-case basis whether a placement would ensure the inmate’s health and safety, and whether the placement would present management or security problems."

The policy also mandated that "inmate’s own views with respect to his or her own safety shall be given serious consideration," and that "assignments for each transgender or intersex inmate shall be reassessed at least twice each year to review any threats to safety experienced by the inmate."

Trump's order specifically called to overturn the provisions meant to prevent assault against trans people, mandating that federal agencies “ensure that males are not detained in women’s prisons or housed in women’s detention centers, including through amendment, as necessary, of Part 115.41 of title 28, Code of Federal Regulations [the Prison Rape Elimination Act] and interpretation guidance regarding the Americans with Disabilities Act.”

Related: Georgia law banning gender-affirming care for trans inmates struck down

There are about 5,000 incarcerated transgender people in the country, a 2020 investigation from NBC News found, accounting for just 0.4 percent of the 1,230,100 inmates recorded nationally in 2021. In federal prisons, there are about 1,500 trans women, the Bureau of Prisons reports, accounting for 15 percent of women in federal prisons. There are about 750 trans men out of the 144,000 men in federal prisons.

While there is no evidence to suggest the presence of trans women in women's spaces endangers other women, transgender inmates are 10 times more likely to report being sexually victimized than other prisoners, federal data shows. More than half of nearly 300 surveyed incarcerated trans people reported being sexually assaulted during their current prison sentences, according to a February report, with over 31 percent saying violence from fellow prisoners is the primary reason they feel unsafe.

If you or someone you know has experienced sexual violence, the National Sexual Assault Hotline is available 24/7 with free and confidential services. More resources are available here.