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Our work is devoted to eliminating sexual abuse and sexual harassment of all people confined in prisons, jails, juvenile facilities, community confinement facilities, and lockups, and regards sexual safety as a fundamental human right.
PREA Resource Center
The Prison Rape Elimination Act (PREA) Resource Center is funded through a cooperative agreement between the Bureau of Justice Assistance at the Department of Justice, and Impact Justice.
The PREA Resource Center (PRC) provides assistance to state and local agencies as they grapple with the challenges of ensuring sexual safety in their facilities and as they work to implement the Department of Justice (DOJ) National PREA Standards. That assistance includes robust training and technical assistance, such as links with experts who can review policies and coach leadership through the changes necessary to create sexually safe environments. The PRC also develops publicly available resources, including training curricula, to address common challenges in the field. The PRC maintains a federally sponsored website with an extensive library of resources for agencies seeking to become compliant with the PREA standards. Finally, the PRC supports the DOJ PREA audit function by assisting with the training and ongoing support of PREA auditors around the country.
PREA Targeted Implementation Planning and Support
The PREA Targeted Implementation Planning and Support (PREA TIPS) Program is a new opportunity from Impact Justice for locally operated small and medium jails, juvenile facilities, community confinement facilities, lockups, and tribal facilities to receive federal funds* in the amount of $20,000 – $200,000 to assist in PREA implementation. Learn more on the PREA TIPS page on the PRC website.
*Resources Subject to Availability
What We’re Doing
Changing Attitudes & Perceptions
Sexual abuse should never be part of any punishment, and yet we have allowed sexual abuse in confinement to become too common. The PRC affirms the humanity of people who are incarcerated by working to end sexual abuse in confinement.
Implementing Policy Change
The PRC assists state and local agencies with implementation of the National PREA Standards, which represent sweeping policy change in the treatment and safety of people in prisons, jails, juvenile and community confinement facilities, and lockups. The TIPS program provides critical financial resources to support these efforts.
Advancing Practice
The PRC helps confinement agencies to put change into practice by creating reporting cultures, training staff, educating people who are confined, providing meaningful support to victims, and undertaking comprehensive, practice-based audits.