December 5th 2025.
The Trump administration has made a controversial decision to eliminate prison standards designed to protect transgender, intersex, and gender-nonconforming inmates. According to an internal memo initially reported by NPR, the Department of Justice has instructed inspectors to disregard these standards, which were put in place to prevent sexual violence against inmates.
This memo comes as the DOJ is working on revising federal standards related to the 2003 Rape Elimination Act, in order to align with President Donald Trump's executive order on "gender ideology extremism." This executive order only recognizes two sexes: male and female.
The PREA law, signed into effect by President George W. Bush on September 4, 2003, was intended to eradicate prisoner rape in correctional facilities across the country. As a result of PREA, the Bureau of Justice Assistance established the Protecting Inmates and Safeguarding Communities Program in 2004, providing funding for states to implement measures to prevent and eliminate prisoner rape in state and local prisons, jails, and police lockup facilities.
Unfortunately, data from the National Institutes of Health shows that sexual and physical assault are all too common in prisons. In fact, around 21% of male inmates experience physical assaults in just six months. This issue is particularly concerning for inmates who identify as transgender, intersex, or gender-nonconforming, as they are at a heightened risk of sexual violence, as noted in the internal memo.
The Trump administration's latest move to eliminate these prison standards has sparked outrage, especially within the LGBTQ+ community. This decision strips away yet another layer of protection for this community, particularly for those who identify as transgender. In the first days of his presidency, Trump signed several executive orders, including one that ended a longstanding federal policy allowing incarcerated transgender women to be housed in facilities that align with their gender identity. He also implemented a ban on transgender individuals serving openly in the military.
This decision has had real-life consequences, as seen in the case of seventeen transgender servicemembers who filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration. These individuals, who had served for over 15 years in the United States Air Force and Space Force, had their retirements rescinded due to the ban. This has sparked a political firestorm and has even resulted in a New York Attorney General being indicted on bank fraud charges.
Overall, the Trump administration's actions have caused significant harm to the LGBTQ+ community, and this latest decision to eliminate prison standards only adds to the ongoing controversy surrounding their policies.
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