DOJ orders prison inspectors to stop considering LGBTQ safety standards
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.
