Thursday, June 19, 2025  |  2:00-3:00pm EST

Only 0.6% of the adult U.S. population—about 1.4 million people—are transgender, yet transgender people are significantly overrepresented in jails and prisons. Once incarcerated, PREA recognizes that LGBTQ+ people are particularly vulnerable and at heightened risk for sexual assault, abuse, and repeated trauma. Their placement and housing within a correctional setting is determined based on the gender they were assigned at birth, rather than placing transgender individuals in facilities that correspond to their gender identity. As a result, incarcerated transgender and other LGBTQ individuals are often housed in a manner that compromises their safety and well-being and jeopardizes their daily access to programs and services—including extensive segregation and use of solitary “protective custody” confinement.