The Prison Rape Elimination Act of 2003 (PREA)
The Prison Rape Elimination Act (PREA), a federal law enacted in 2003, was created to eliminate sexual abuse in confinement. 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. The National Prison Rape Elimination Commission developed recommended national standards for reducing prison rape. The final standards became effective June 20, 2012, when they were published by the Department of Justice (DOJ) in the Federal Register. More recently, the US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) released final standards for DHS confinement facilities, effective May 6, 2014.
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