Introductory Topics Webinar Series on the Protections in the PREA Standards for LGBTI+ Individuals

The PREA Resource Center presents this three-part Introductory Topics Webinar Series on protections in the PREA Standards for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, intersex, and gender nonconforming (LGBTI+) people in custody.

PREA Standards 115.31, 131, 231, and 331 (Employee training) require all staff to be trained on effective and professional communication with LGBTI+ people in custody and the dynamics of sexual abuse in confinement. It is important for staff to communicate effectively and professionally with this population because they are at higher risk of sexual abuse and sexual harassment in confinement, and such communication increases the likelihood they will be comfortable reporting and cooperating with investigations.

The three webinars in this series provide relevant introductory training for staff who are responsible for implementing PREA Standards that rely on effective and professional communication with LGBTI+ people who are confined. These include:

PREA Standards 115.41, 241, and 341 (Screening for risk of victimization and abusiveness), which require screening staff to ask each person in custody about their LGBTI status, and to make a subjective determination about it.
PREA Standards 115.42, 242, and 342 (Use of screening information), which focus on making individualized housing and placement decisions based on the information collected under Standards 115.41, 241, and 341.
PREA Standards 115.15, 115, 215, and 315 (Limits to cross-gender viewing and searches), which define how searches of transgender and intersex individuals must be conducted.

Because each webinar builds upon the one that precedes it, they are intended to be viewed in the following order:

The first webinar covers the requirement to use effective and professional language and terminology to communicate with LGBTI+ individuals who are confined.
The second provides context for the protections in the PREA Standards for LGBTI+ people in custody. It reviews incarceration rates for this population and data on the sexual abuse and sexual harassment they experience in confinement settings. It also focuses on the dynamics of sexual abuse and sexual harassment in these settings.
The third builds on the information in the first two by providing practical strategies for effective and professional communication with LGBTI+ people in custody.