COMMITTEE ISSUE: PRISON RAPE ELIMINATION ACT

The Prison Rape Elimination Act, or PREA, was enacted in 2003 by a unanimous vote of Congress and signed by President George W. Bush. The legislation establishes a “zero-tolerance standard” for rape in United States prisons and prioritizes the prevention of prison rape in state and local facilities. PREA also required data collection according to standardized definitions to help improve facilities’ management practices. National standards implementing the act were adopted in federal rules by the U.S. Department of Justice (US DOJ) and became effective in August 2012.