Sexual Victimization in Correctional Facilities (PREA)

The Prison Rape Elimination Act of 2003 (PREA; Public Law 108-79) requires the Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS) to carry out a comprehensive statistical review and analysis of the incidence and effects of prison rape for each calendar year. BJS’s review must include, but is not limited to, the identification of the common characteristics of both victims and perpetrators of prison rape; and prisons and prison systems with a high incidence of prison rape. Analysis must—

be based on a random sample, or other scientifically appropriate sample, of not less than 10% of all federal, state, and county prisons, and a representative sample of municipal prisons; and include at least one prison from each state
use surveys and other statistical studies of current and former inmates from a representative sample of federal, state, county, and municipal prisons; and ensure the confidentiality of each survey participant
provide a list of institutions in the sample, separated into each category and ranked according to the incidence of prison rape in each institution; and provide a list of any prisons in the sample that did not cooperate with the survey.

PREA applies to all correctional facilities, including prisons, jails, juvenile facilities, military and Indian country facilities, and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) facilities. Due to the sensitive nature of violent victimization and potential reluctance to report sexual assault, estimates of the prevalence of such acts do not rely on a single measure. Thus, BJS developed the National Prison Rape Statistics Program (NPRSP), a series designed to collect multiple measures of the incidence and prevalence of sexual assault. No data collection existed that could be used to fully respond to the requirements in PREA. BJS, with the aid of correctional practitioners, researchers, and special interest groups, developed, tested, and revised each collection prior to full national implementation. For these reasons, the data collections have been rolled out consecutively rather than concurrently, and each collection is in a different stage of implementation.

NPRSP includes four separate data collection efforts: the Survey of Sexual Victimization (SSV), the National Inmate Survey (NIS), the National Survey of Youth in Custody (NSYC), and the National Former Prisoner Survey (NFPS). Each of these collections is an independent effort and, while not directly comparable, provides various measures of the prevalence and characteristics of sexual assault in correctional facilities. Incidents reported to or observed by correctional or medical officials collected in the SSV administrative records survey may be an underrepresentation of actual incidents. Allegations made anonymously by inmates and youth in the NIS, NSYC, and NFPS may be an overrepresentation of actual incidents, although it is possible this overreporting is offset by some victims who, despite the protocols enacted to assure confidentiality and encourage reporting, remain fearful of retribution or ridicule and fail to report sexual victimization. For additional information, see the corrections data collections.

Data Collections

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Data collections vary in scope, burden, and frequency of collection (see individual data collection descriptions for more information). Generally, BJS collects data both from administrative records and from interviews with prison and jail inmates. All data collections must be approved by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) prior to fielding, which takes several months. Collections must be resubmitted for approval every 3 years (sooner if there are changes in the data collection). For data that are collected through inmate interviews, there must also be an Institutional Review Board (IRB) to protect human subjects (prior to OMB submission), and individual jurisdictions may require additional reviews prior to participation.

All data collection is voluntary. Without a specific mandate by Congress, no jurisdiction is compelled to participate in our data collections; individual surveys are conducted only with persons granting formal consent to participate. Most jurisdictions choose to participate because the information is helpful for policy and practice and may be used to allocate funding. It takes time to achieve a complete enumeration, particularly in times of staff shortages and budget cuts in many levels of government.

Administrative collections are sent out close to the reference date in the survey and are due to BJS 2 to 3 months later. Most respondents submit the data on time, but for various reasons, other jurisdictions take longer to submit the data. BJS staff or contractor staff work with jurisdictions to obtain the necessary information, which can take an additional 3 months.

After data are collected, they must then be cleaned, weighted (in the case of sample populations), and analyzed. BJS staff has several methods of release, including a formal report, statistical/electronic tables, or a summary brief. All data are fully verified prior to release. Keeping in mind that each data collection is different and the times may vary significantly depending on the collection of interest, provided below is an average data collection and processing timetable:

Collection, 5–6 months (from reference date) for administrative surveys; 8–12 for interview surveys

Cleaning/weighting, 1–2 months for administrative surveys; 3–6 for interview surveys

Analysis/verification, 2–12 months, depending on survey type and complexity of analysis

Preparation to disseminate, 2–3 months

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Terms & Definitions

Outcomes of investigations

Substantiated allegation means the event was investigated and determined to have occurred, based on a preponderance of the evidence (28 C.F.R. §115.72).

Unfounded allegation means the investigation determined that the event did not occur.

Unsubstantiated allegation means the investigation concluded that evidence was insufficient to determine whether or not the event occurred.

Sexual victimization as reported by adult correctional and juvenile justice authorities

Inmate-on-inmate or youth-on-youth sexual victimization involves nonconsensual sexual acts or abusive contact with a victim without his or her consent or with a victim who cannot consent or refuse.

Nonconsensual sexual acts are the most serious victimizations and include—

contact between the penis and the vulva or the penis and the anus, including penetration, however slight
contact between the mouth and the penis, vulva, or anus
penetration of the anal or genital opening of another person, however slight, by a hand, finger, object, or other instrument.

Abusive sexual contact is less serious and includes intentional touching, either directly or through the clothing, of the genitalia, anus, groin, breast, inner thigh, or buttocks of any person. Incidents in which the contact was incidental to a physical altercation are excluded.

Sexual harassment by another inmate includes—

repeated and unwelcome sexual advances
requests for sexual favors
verbal comments, gestures, or actions of a derogatory or offensive sexual nature.

Staff-on-inmate or staff-on-youth sexual victimization includes both consensual and nonconsensual acts perpetrated on an inmate by staff. Staff includes an employee, volunteer, contractor, official visitor, or other agency representative. Family, friends, and other visitors are excluded.

Staff sexual misconduct includes any consensual or nonconsensual behavior or act of a sexual nature directed toward an inmate by staff, including romantic relationships. Such acts include—

intentional touching, either directly or through the clothing, of the genitalia, anus, groin, breast, inner thigh, or buttocks that is unrelated to official duties or with the intent to abuse, arouse, or gratify sexual desire
completed, attempted, threatened, or requested sexual acts
occurrences of indecent exposure, invasion of privacy, or staff voyeurism for reasons unrelated to official duties or for sexual gratification.

Staff sexual harassment includes repeated verbal comments or gestures of a sexual nature to an inmate by staff. Such statements include—

demeaning references to an inmate's sex or derogatory comments about his or her body or clothing
repeated profane or obscene language or gestures.

Sexual victimization as reported by inmates in jails and prisons or youth in juvenile facilities

Sexual victimization reported by inmates or youth includes any forced or coerced sexual acts or activity with another inmate or youth and any sexual acts or activity with facility staff.

Inmate-on-inmate or youth-on-youth sexual victimization involving force or coercion includes:

Forced or coerced sexual acts—unwanted contacts with another inmate or youth that involved anal or vaginal penetration, oral sex, handjobs, or other sexual acts.
Other forced or coerced sexual activity—unwanted contacts with another inmate or youth that involved touching of the buttocks, thigh, penis, breasts, or vagina in a sexual way that does not meet the description of forced or coerced sexual acts.

Staff-on-inmate or staff-on-youth sexual victimization includes:

Sexual acts—any contacts with staff that involved anal or vaginal penetration, oral sex, handjobs, or other sexual acts.
Other sexual activity—any contacts with staff that involved touching of the buttocks, this, penis, breasts, or vagina in a sexual way that does not meet the description of sexual acts.

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