DOJ orders prison inspectors to stop considering LGBTQ safety standards
Source: NPR
December 4, 20252:44 PM ET
The Department of Justice has instructed inspectors to stop evaluating prisons and jails using standards designed to protect transgender, intersex and gender-nonconforming people from sexual violence, according to an internal memo obtained by NPR. This population is uniquely vulnerable to attacks while incarcerated, data shows, and advocates say the change will put such people in even more danger.
The memo explains that DOJ is in the process of revising federal standards related to the 2003 Prison Rape Elimination Act (PREA) in order to align with President Trump's executive order on "gender ideology extremism." The Jan. 20 executive order asserts that the United States recognizes only two sexes: male and female.
According to the DOJ memo, while the revision process is underway, detention centers that undergo PREA audits will no longer be inspected using standards specifically designed to keep LGBTQ and intersex people safe. The facilities include federal prisons, state prisons and jails, juvenile detention centers and immigration detention centers. These inspectors, referred to as auditors, are not employed by the DOJ, but are hired by corrections agencies or by individual facilities. The DOJ certifies the auditors and can decertify them.
The DOJ did not respond to NPR's request for comment on the memo.
Read more: https://www.npr.org/2025/12/04/nx-s1-5630490/prison-doj-safety-memo-changes-trans-lgbtq-inmates
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