The Department of Justice has ordered prison inspectors to stop evaluating key protections created under the 2003 Prison Rape Elimination Act (PREA) that are designed to prevent sexual violence against transgender, intersex, and gender-nonconforming inmates.
As first reported by NPR, a newly disclosed memo says the change is part of an effort to revise PREA standards to comply with President Donald Trump’s January executive order denying federal recognition for non-cisgender identities.
According to the memo, detention centers undergoing PREA audits — including federal and state prisons, juvenile facilities, and immigration detention centers — will no longer be evaluated under the LGBTQ-specific standards meant to protect transgender, intersex, and gender-nonconforming inmates while the revisions are underway.
This means auditors will no longer assess whether transgender inmates are housed according to their gender identity, whether those decisions are made on a case-by-case basis, or whether sexual violence may have been motivated by a victim’s LGBTQ identity.
Auditors typically visit detention facilities to ensure staff are following PREA requirements intended to prevent sexual abuse and harassment. Their work includes interviewing staff and inmates, touring facilities, and reviewing procedures and policies aimed at reducing rape, harassment, and retaliation.
“It’s going to make people less safe,” said Linda McFarlane, executive director of Just Detention International. “And when facilities are less safe for the most vulnerable and marginalized, they’re less safe for everybody.”
Just Detention International also warns that the memo directs auditors to mark LGBTQ-specific PREA standards as “not applicable” during inspections, even though those rules remain in effect until any revisions are finalized through the federal rule-making process.
The National Association of PREA Coordinators noted in a statement that because the Justice Department hasn’t finalized any new regulations, the existing standards remain in effect.
The group added that in jurisdictions without their own laws requiring such protections, each correctional agency or facility can choose whether to continue following the regulation or ignore it altogether.
The statement says the memo allows the Justice Department “to implement the President’s policy while allowing state and local governments to determine how to best meet the needs of incarcerated people who are transgender and gender diverse.”
It adds: “Whether a system adopts a binary sex approach or one that recognizes a spectrum of gender, we cannot forsake our primary responsibility to keep the most vulnerable individuals in our care safe from those who present a threat of sexual abuse or sexual harassment.”
A 2015 survey by the criminal justice group Black and Pink found that LGBTQ prisoners are more than six times as likely to be sexually assaulted as the general prison population. But Brenda Smith, director of The Project on Addressing Prison Rape, notes that available data is incomplete and argues that the DOJ memo ignores the reality that LGBTQ people face a significantly higher risk of victimization.
NPR reports that the most recent Bureau of Justice Statistics data shows correctional administrators recorded 36,264 allegations of sexual violence in 2020 across prisons, jails, and other adult facilities. Only 2,351 of those allegations were substantiated after investigation.
Earlier this year, the Trump administration ended funding for the National PREA Resource Center, which had assisted states and localities in complying with PREA standards, tracked investigation outcomes, and provided rape-prevention resources to victims and inspectors. The cut was part of a broader round of funding reductions and grant cancellations affecting crime-victim advocacy programs, many of which were later reversed following media scrutiny.
At the time, the Justice Department told NPR it was “focused on prosecuting criminals, getting illegal drugs off of the streets, and protecting American institutions from toxic DEI and sanctuary city policies. Discretionary funds that are no longer aligned with the administration’s priorities are subject to review and reallocation.”
A federal judge says she plans to issue a preliminary injunction blocking a Trump administration policy that would cut funding for sex education programs, including so-called "gender ideology." The announcement came during a conference call with state attorneys and federal officials.
Earlier this year, President Donald Trump issued an executive order barring schools from engaging in what it calls the "social transition" of transgender youth -- meaning any recognition of gender identity as distinct from biological sex, including using a student’s chosen name or pronouns or making accommodations based on gender identity.
Apple has pulled two of China's most popular gay dating apps from its App Store after receiving an order from the country's top internet regulator and censorship agency.
According to Wired, the tech giant removed Blued and Finka from both Apple's iOS App Store and several Android marketplaces over the weekend. New downloads are now blocked, though the apps remain functional for users who already had them installed.
"We follow the laws in the countries where we operate," an Apple spokesperson told Wired in an email. "Based on an order from the Cyberspace Administration of China, we have removed these two apps from the China storefront only." The spokesperson added that the apps haven't been available in other countries for some time.
U.S. Rep. Nancy Mace once cast herself as an LGBTQ-friendly Republican. She has since become one of Congress’s loudest opponents of transgender rights -- and is now echoing a familiar refrain used by opponents of same-sex marriage on social media.
"Adam and Eve, not Adam and Steve," wrote Mace on X, repeating a long-used slogan that mocks same-sex relationships as “abnormal” and frames homosexuality as contrary to the Bible. The South Carolina congresswoman is currently running for governor.
A community note soon appeared under Mace’s post, pointing out that she voted twice for the Respect for Marriage Act -- once during its initial passage, and again when the House approved the Senate’s version. The 2022 law requires both federal and state governments to recognize same-sex marriages performed in states where they’re legal.
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