Prison Rape Elimination Act

Page 6969

TITLE 42—THE PUBLIC HEALTH AND WELFARE

(b) No effect on preclearance or other requirements under Voting Rights Act
The approval by the Administrator or the
Commission of a payment or grant application
under subchapter I or subchapter II of this chapter, or any other action taken by the Commission or a State under such subchapter, shall not
be considered to have any effect on requirements for preclearance under section 5 of the
Voting Rights Act of 1965 (42 U.S.C. 1973c) or any
other requirements of such Act [42 U.S.C. 1973 et
seq.].

Sec.

15606.

(Pub. L. 107–252, title IX, § 906, Oct. 29, 2002, 116
Stat. 1729.)
REFERENCES IN TEXT
The National Voter Registration Act of 1993, referred
to in subsec. (a), is Pub. L. 103–31, May 20, 1993, 107 Stat.
77, as amended, which is classified principally to subchapter I–H (§ 1973gg et seq.) of chapter 20 of this title.
For complete classification of this Act to the Code, see
Short Title note set out under section 1971 of this title
and Tables.
The Voting Rights Act of 1965, referred to in subsecs.
(a)(1) and (b), is Pub. L. 89–110, Aug. 6, 1965, 79 Stat. 437,
as amended, which is classified generally to subchapters I–A (§ 1973 et seq.), I–B (§ 1973aa et seq.), and
I–C (§ 1973bb et seq.) of chapter 20 of this title. For complete classification of this Act to the Code, see Short
Title note set out under section 1971 of this title and
Tables.
The Voting Accessibility for the Elderly and Handicapped Act, referred to in subsec. (a)(2), is Pub. L.
98–435, Sept. 28, 1984, 98 Stat. 1678, as amended, which is
classified generally to subchapter I–F (§ 1973ee et seq.)
of chapter 20 of this title. For complete classification
of this Act to the Code, see Short Title note set out
under section 1971 of this title and Tables.
The Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act, referred to in subsec. (a)(3), is Pub. L. 99–410,
Aug. 28, 1986, 100 Stat. 924, as amended, which is classified principally to subchapter I–G (§ 1973ff et seq.) of
chapter 20 of this title. For complete classification of
this Act to the Code, see Short Title of 1986 Amendment note set out under section 1971 of this title and
Tables.
The Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, referred
to in subsec. (a)(5), is Pub. L. 101–336, July 26, 1990, 104
Stat. 327, as amended, which is classified principally to
chapter 126 (§ 12101 et seq.) of this title. For complete
classification of this Act to the Code, see Short Title
note set out under section 12101 of this title and Tables.
The Rehabilitation Act of 1973, referred to in subsec.
(a)(6), is Pub. L. 93–112, Sept. 26, 1973, 87 Stat. 355, as
amended, which is classified generally to chapter 16
(§ 701 et seq.) of Title 29, Labor. For complete classification of this Act to the Code, see Short Title note set
out under section 701 of Title 29 and Tables.

CHAPTER 147—PRISON RAPE ELIMINATION
Sec.

15601.
15602.
15603.

15604.

15605.

Findings.
Purposes.
National prison rape statistics, data, and research.
(a) Annual comprehensive statistical review.
(b) Review Panel on Prison Rape.
(c) Reports.
(d) Contracts and grants.
(e) Authorization of appropriations.
Prison rape prevention and prosecution.
(a) Information and assistance.
(b) Reports.
(c) Authorization of appropriations.
Grants to protect inmates and safeguard communities.

§ 15601

15607.

15608.

15609.

(a) Grants authorized.
(b) Use of grant amounts.
(c) Grant requirements.
(d) Applications.
(e) Reports by grantee.
(f) State defined.
(g) Authorization of appropriations.
National Prison Rape Elimination Commission.
(a) Establishment.
(b) Members.
(c) Operation.
(d) Comprehensive study of the impacts
of prison rape.
(e) Recommendations.
(f) Consultation with accreditation organizations.
(g) Hearings.
(h) Information from Federal or State
agencies.
(i) Personnel matters.
(j) Contracts for research.
(k) Subpoenas.
(l) Authorization of appropriations.
(m) Termination.
(n) Exemption.
Adoption and effect of national standards.
(a) Publication of proposed standards.
(b) Applicability to Federal Bureau of
Prisons.
(c) Eligibility for Federal funds.
Requirement that accreditation organizations adopt accreditation standards.
(a) Eligibility for Federal grants.
(b) Requirements.
Definitions.

§ 15601. Findings
Congress makes the following findings:
(1) 2,100,146 persons were incarcerated in the
United States at the end of 2001: 1,324,465 in
Federal and State prisons and 631,240 in county and local jails. In 1999, there were more
than 10,000,000 separate admissions to and discharges from prisons and jails.
(2) Insufficient research has been conducted
and insufficient data reported on the extent of
prison rape. However, experts have conservatively estimated that at least 13 percent of
the inmates in the United States have been
sexually assaulted in prison. Many inmates
have suffered repeated assaults. Under this estimate, nearly 200,000 inmates now incarcerated have been or will be the victims of prison
rape. The total number of inmates who have
been sexually assaulted in the past 20 years
likely exceeds 1,000,000.
(3) Inmates with mental illness are at increased risk of sexual victimization. America’s
jails and prisons house more mentally ill individuals than all of the Nation’s psychiatric
hospitals combined. As many as 16 percent of
inmates in State prisons and jails, and 7 percent of Federal inmates, suffer from mental
illness.
(4) Young first-time offenders are at increased risk of sexual victimization. Juveniles
are 5 times more likely to be sexually assaulted in adult rather than juvenile facilities—often within the first 48 hours of incarceration.
(5) Most prison staff are not adequately
trained or prepared to prevent, report, or treat
inmate sexual assaults.

§ 15602

TITLE 42—THE PUBLIC HEALTH AND WELFARE

(6) Prison rape often goes unreported, and inmate victims often receive inadequate treatment for the severe physical and psychological
effects of sexual assault—if they receive treatment at all.
(7) HIV and AIDS are major public health
problems within America’s correctional facilities. In 2000, 25,088 inmates in Federal and
State prisons were known to be infected with
HIV/AIDS. In 2000, HIV/AIDS accounted for
more than 6 percent of all deaths in Federal
and State prisons. Infection rates for other
sexually transmitted diseases, tuberculosis,
and hepatitis B and C are also far greater for
prisoners than for the American population as
a whole. Prison rape undermines the public
health by contributing to the spread of these
diseases, and often giving a potential death
sentence to its victims.
(8) Prison rape endangers the public safety
by making brutalized inmates more likely to
commit crimes when they are released—as
600,000 inmates are each year.
(9) The frequently interracial character of
prison sexual assaults significantly exacerbates interracial tensions, both within prison
and, upon release of perpetrators and victims
from prison, in the community at large.
(10) Prison rape increases the level of homicides and other violence against inmates and
staff, and the risk of insurrections and riots.
(11) Victims of prison rape suffer severe
physical and psychological effects that hinder
their ability to integrate into the community
and maintain stable employment upon their
release from prison. They are thus more likely
to become homeless and/or require government assistance.
(12) Members of the public and government
officials are largely unaware of the epidemic
character of prison rape and the day-to-day
horror experienced by victimized inmates.
(13) The high incidence of sexual assault
within prisons involves actual and potential
violations of the United States Constitution.
In Farmer v. Brennan, 511 U.S. 825 (1994), the
Supreme Court ruled that deliberate indifference to the substantial risk of sexual assault
violates prisoners’ rights under the Cruel and
Unusual Punishments Clause of the Eighth
Amendment. The Eighth Amendment rights of
State and local prisoners are protected
through the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. Pursuant to the power of
Congress under Section Five of the Fourteenth
Amendment, Congress may take action to enforce those rights in States where officials
have demonstrated such indifference. States
that do not take basic steps to abate prison
rape by adopting standards that do not generate significant additional expenditures demonstrate such indifference. Therefore, such
States are not entitled to the same level of
Federal benefits as other States.
(14) The high incidence of prison rape undermines the effectiveness and efficiency of
United
States
Government
expenditures
through grant programs such as those dealing
with health care; mental health care; disease
prevention; crime prevention, investigation,
and prosecution; prison construction, mainte-

Page 6970

nance, and operation; race relations; poverty;
unemployment and homelessness. The effectiveness and efficiency of these federally funded grant programs are compromised by the
failure of State officials to adopt policies and
procedures that reduce the incidence of prison
rape in that the high incidence of prison
rape—
(A) increases the costs incurred by Federal, State, and local jurisdictions to administer their prison systems;
(B) increases the levels of violence, directed at inmates and at staff, within prisons;
(C) increases health care expenditures,
both inside and outside of prison systems,
and reduces the effectiveness of disease prevention programs by substantially increasing the incidence and spread of HIV, AIDS,
tuberculosis, hepatitis B and C, and other
diseases;
(D) increases mental health care expenditures, both inside and outside of prison systems, by substantially increasing the rate of
post-traumatic stress disorder, depression,
suicide, and the exacerbation of existing
mental illnesses among current and former
inmates;
(E) increases the risks of recidivism, civil
strife, and violent crime by individuals who
have been brutalized by prison rape; and
(F) increases the level of interracial tensions and strife within prisons and, upon release of perpetrators and victims, in the
community at large.
(15) The high incidence of prison rape has a
significant effect on interstate commerce because it increases substantially—
(A) the costs incurred by Federal, State,
and local jurisdictions to administer their
prison systems;
(B) the incidence and spread of HIV, AIDS,
tuberculosis, hepatitis B and C, and other
diseases, contributing to increased health
and medical expenditures throughout the
Nation;
(C) the rate of post-traumatic stress disorder, depression, suicide, and the exacerbation of existing mental illnesses among
current and former inmates, contributing to
increased health and medical expenditures
throughout the Nation; and
(D) the risk of recidivism, civil strife, and
violent crime by individuals who have been
brutalized by prison rape.
(Pub. L. 108–79, § 2, Sept. 4, 2003, 117 Stat. 972.)
SHORT TITLE
Pub. L. 108–79, § 1(a), Sept. 4, 2003, 117 Stat. 972, provided that: ‘‘This Act [enacting this chapter] may be
cited as the ‘Prison Rape Elimination Act of 2003’.’’

§ 15602. Purposes
The purposes of this chapter are to—
(1) establish a zero-tolerance standard for
the incidence of prison rape in prisons in the
United States;
(2) make the prevention of prison rape a top
priority in each prison system;
(3) develop and implement national standards for the detection, prevention, reduction,
and punishment of prison rape;