The  Prison Rape Elimination Act (PREA) was passed in 2003 with unanimous  support from both parties in Congress. The purpose of the act was 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.” (Prison Rape Elimination Act, 2003). In addition to  creating a mandate for significant research from the Bureau of Justice  Statistics and through the National Institute of Justice, funding  through the Bureau of Justice Assistance and the National Institute of  Corrections supported major efforts in many state correctional, juvenile  detention, community corrections, and jail systems. 

The act also created the National Prison Rape Elimination Commission  and charged it with developing draft standards for the elimination of  prison rape. Those standards were published in June 2009, and were  turned over to the Department of Justice for review and passage as a  final rule. That final rule became effective August 20, 2012.  

In 2010, the Bureau of Justice Assistance funded the National PREA  Resource Center to continue to provide federally funded training and  technical assistance to states and localities, as well as to serve as a  single-stop resource for leading research and tools for all those in the  field working to come into compliance with the federal standards.

•  PREA Resource Center

 Prison Rape Elimination Act