U.S. Department of Justice
Office of Justice Programs
Bureau of Justice Statistics

DATA COLLECTION PROFILE

May 2014, NCJ 245694

Prison Rape Elimination Act of 2003

PREA Data Collection Activities, 2014
The Prison Rape Elimination Act of 2003 (PREA; P.L. 10879) requires the Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS) to carry out,
for each calendar year, a comprehensive statistical review and
analysis of the incidence and effects of prison rape. The act
further specifies that the review and analysis shall be based on a
random sample, or other scientifically appropriate sample of not
less than 10 percent of all prisons, and a representative sample
of municipal prisons.

In 2013, more than 7,600 prisons, jails, community-based
facilities, and juvenile correctional facilities nationwide were
covered by PREA. The act requires the Attorney General to
submit­—no later than June 30 of each year—a report that lists
institutions in the sample and ranks them according to the
incidence of prison rape. BJS has developed a multiple-measure,
multiple-mode data collection strategy to fully implement
requirements under PREA.

DATA COLLECTIONS DURING 2013 AND 2014
The Survey of Sexual Violence (SSV) collects data annually
from administrative records on the incidence of sexual
victimization in adult and juvenile correctional facilities. The
first of a series of data collections implemented to meet PREA
mandates, this collection began in 2004. The survey includes
measures of four different types of sexual victimization and
is administered to a sample of at least 10% of all correctional
facilities covered under PREA. It collects additional detail
on the characteristics of substantiated incidents of sexual
victimization.
The administrative records surveys provide a basis for the
annual statistical review required under PREA. The surveys
include all federal and state prison systems, as well as facilities
operated by the U.S. Military and Immigration and Customs
Enforcement (ICE). The surveys also include representative
samples of jail jurisdictions, privately operated adult prisons
and jails, and jails in Indian country. Each year, the SSV also
includes all state-owned or -operated juvenile facilities and a
representative sample of locally and privately operated juvenile
facilities.

Among the findings—
„„

Administrators of adult correctional facilities reported
8,763 allegations of sexual victimization in 2011, a
statistically significant increase over the 8,404 allegations
reported in 2010 and 7,855 in 2009.

„„

The number of allegations has risen since 2005, largely due
to increases in prisons, where allegations increased from
4,791 allegations to 6,660 in 2011 (up 39%).

„„

In 2011, 902 allegations of sexual victimization (10%) were
substantiated (i.e., determined to have occurred upon
investigation).

„„

State prison administrators reported 537 substantiated
incidents of sexual victimization in 2011, up 17% from
459 in 2005.

„„

About 52% of substantiated incidents of sexual
victimization in 2011 involved only inmates, while 48% of
substantiated incidents involved staff with inmates.

„„

Injuries were reported in about 18% of incidents of inmateon-inmate sexual victimization and in less than 1% of
incidents of staff sexual victimizations.

„„

Females committed more than half of all substantiated
incidents of staff sexual misconduct and a quarter of all
incidents of staff sexual harassment.

Results from the SSV for juvenile facilities are expected in
September 2014.
BJS published two reports in January 2014: Sexual
Victimization Reported by Adult Correctional Authorities,
2009–11 (NCJ 243904) and Survey of Sexual Violence in
Adult Correctional Facilities, 2009–11 - Statistical Tables (NCJ
244227).

BJS

During 2014, BJS modified the SSV and will implement
changes for the 2013 collection year. BJS will—
„„

revise the SSV definitions to synchronize the language
with the PREA standards (while preserving the ability to
measure long-term trends)

„„

add sexual harassment by another inmate as another
category of sexual victimization (to be consistent with the
PREA standards, 28 C.F.R. Part 115)

„„

add new response categories or expand existing
categories to reduce responses reported in “other,
specify”

„„

add transgender and intersex as gender categories (for
sex of victim)

„„

expand the sample of local and privately operated
juvenile facilities to improve precision of annual
estimates.

The National Survey of Youth in Custody (NSYC)
provides facility-level estimates of youth reporting sexual
victimization in juvenile facilities. The first NSYC (NSYC-1)
was conducted between June 2008 and April 2009, and the
second (NSYC-2) was conducted between February 2012
and September 2012.
The NSYC-2 was conducted in 273 state-owned or -operated
juvenile facilities and 53 locally or privately operated
facilities that held adjudicated youth under state contract.
The survey was completed by 8,707 adjudicated youth
sampled from at least one facility in every state and the
District of Columbia.
BJS released the first report from NSYC-2 in June 2013:
Sexual Victimization in Juvenile Facilities Reported by Youth,
2012 (NCJ 241708).
Among the findings—
„„

An estimated 9.5% of adjudicated youth in state juvenile
facilities and state contract facilities (representing 1,720
youth nationwide) reported experiencing one or more
incidents of sexual victimization by another youth or
staff in the past 12 months or since admission, if less than
12 months.

„„

About 2.5% of youth (450 nationwide) reported an
incident involving another youth, and 7.7% (1,390)
reported an incident involving facility staff.

„„

Among the estimated 1,390 youth who reported
victimization by staff, 89.1% were males reporting sexual
activity with female staff, and 3.0% were males reporting
sexual activity with both male and female staff. In
comparison, males comprised 91% of adjudicated youth
in the survey, and female staff accounted for 44% of staff
in the sampled facilities.

„„

An estimated 3.5% of youth reported having sex or other
sexual contact with facility staff as a result of force or
other forms of coercion, while 4.7% of youth reported
sexual contact with staff without any force, threat, or
explicit form of coercion.

„„

About 20.3% of youth victims of staff sexual misconduct
experienced physical force or threat of force, 12.3% were
offered protection, and 21.5% were given drugs or
alcohol to engage in sexual contact.

„„

When youth were asked who initiated sexual contact,
36.4% reported that the facility staff always made the first
move, 17.4% reported that they always made the first
move, and 46.3% said that sometimes the facility staff
made the first move and sometimes they did.

„„

Among state-owned or -operated juvenile facilities only,
the rate of sexual victimization declined from 12.6%
in 2008–09 (when the first survey was conducted) to
9.9% in 2012.

During 2014, BJS and Westat (the NSYC data collection
agent) initiated further analyses of the NSYC-2 data to
identify the key contextual and individual factors related
to youth sexual victimization. Analyses of the NSYC-2
Facility Survey examine the impact of facility and staff sizes,
staff and youth composition, staff screening methods, and
security measures. BJS will derive additional measures of
facility-level characteristics from the youth self-reports.
These measures include facility assault rates, fear of assault
in the facility, attitudes of youth toward staff, gang activity
in the facility, and the nature and extent of inappropriate
staff behavior with youth. The second report will include a
multilevel analysis of the relationships among facility and
housing unit characteristics, youth-level risk factors, and
self-reported sexual victimization.
The National Inmate Survey (NIS) gathers data on the
prevalence and incidence of sexual assault in adult prison
and local jail facilities, as reported by inmates. The inmates
use audio computer-assisted self-interviewing (ACASI)
technology with a laptop touchscreen and an audio feed to
maximize inmate confidentiality and minimize literacy issues.
The first NIS (NIS-1) was conducted in 2007; the second
(NIS-2), in 2008-09; and the third (NIS-3) in 2011–12.
The NIS-3 was conducted in 233 state and federal prisons,
358 local jails, and 15 special confinement facilities operated
by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), the U.S.
Military, and correctional authorities in Indian country. A
total of 92,449 inmates age 18 or older participated in the
survey, including 38,251 prison inmates, 52,926 jail inmates,
573 ICE detainees, 539 inmates in military facilities, and
160 inmates in Indian country facilities. The survey was
also administered to 527 juveniles ages 16 to 17 held in state
prisons and 1,211 juveniles ages 16 to 17 in local jails.
The first report from NIS-3 was issued in May 2013: Sexual
Victimization in Prisons and Jails Reported by Inmates,
2011–12 (NCJ 241399).

PREA DATA COLLECTION ACTIVITIES, 2014 | MAY 2014	

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Among the findings—
„„

In 2011–12, an estimated 4.0% of state and federal prison
inmates and 3.2% of jail inmates reported experiencing
one or more incidents of sexual victimization by another
inmate or facility staff in the past 12 months or since
admission to the facility, if less than 12 months.

„„

Using the same methodology since 2007, the change
in rate of sexual victimization among state and federal
prison inmates over the three surveys (4.5% in 2007,
4.4% in 2008–09, and 4.0% in 2011–12) was not
statistically significant. Among jail inmates, the rate of
sexual victimization was nearly unchanged—3.2% in
2007, 3.1% in 2008–09, and 3.2% in 2011–12.

„„

Among state and federal prison inmates, 2.0% (an
estimated 29,300 prisoners) reported an incident
involving another inmate, 2.4% (34,100) reported an
incident involving facility staff, and 0.4% (5,500) reported
both an incident by another inmate and staff.

„„

About 1.6% (11,900) of jail inmates reported an incident
with another inmate, 1.8% (13,200) reported an incident
with staff, and 0.2% (2,400) reported both an incident by
another inmate and staff.

„„

From 2007 to 2011–12, reports of “willing” sexual activity
with staff (excluding touching) declined in prisons and
jails, while reports of other types of sexual victimization
remained stable.

„„

In 2011–12, an estimated 1.8% of juveniles ages 16 to 17
held in adult prisons and jails reported being victimized
by another inmate, compared to 2.0% of adults in prisons
and 1.6% of adults in jails.

„„

An estimated 3.2% of juveniles ages 16 to 17 held in
adult prisons and jails reported experiencing staff
sexual misconduct. Though higher, these rates were not
statistically different from the 2.4% of adults in prisons
and 1.8% of adults in jails.

PREA DATA COLLECTION ACTIVITIES, 2014 | MAY 2014	

BJS and RTI International (the NIS data collection agent)
began further analyses of the NIS-3 data. Similar to the
analyses of sexual victimization in juvenile facilities, this
work is designed to explore facility-level predictors of
inmate-on-inmate and staff-on-inmate sexual victimization.
The analyses draw on facility-level data from past BJS prison
facility censuses, the American Correctional Association’s
annual facility directory, and information from the rosters
provided by each facility sampled in the NIS-3 collection. In
addition, key facility composition and climate measures are
derived from the NIS-3 inmate survey responses. BJS expects
to issue a second report from NIS-3 that describes the
contextual circumstances surrounding sexual victimization
and provides a multilevel analysis of the relationships
between facility- and individual-level characteristics and
self-reported sexual victimization.
In addition to providing a fuller understanding of sexual
victimization in adult and juvenile correctional facilities, the
ongoing contextual research is mandated under PREA, in
Sec. 4c(3). The act requires the Attorney General to—
use established statistical methods to adjust the data as
necessary to account for differences among institutions
in the representative sample, which are not related to
the detection, prevention, reduction and punishment of
prison rape, or which are outside the control of the State,
prison, or prison system, in order to provide an accurate
comparison among prisons. Such differences may include
the mission, security level, size, and jurisdiction under
which the prison operates.
When completed in late 2014, the adult and juvenile facility
reports will address the differences and examine facility- and
individual-level variations after these differences have been
statistically controlled.

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UPCOMING REPORTS IN 2014
„„

Sexual Victimization Reported by Juvenile Correctional
Authorities, 2007–12 (September 2014).

PREVIOUSLY RELEASED REPORTS
„„

Survey of Sexual Violence in Adult Correctional Facilities,
2009–11 - Statistical Tables, NCJ 244227, January 2014.

„„

Sexual Victimization in Juvenile Facilities Reported by
Youth, 2008–09, NCJ 228416, January 2010.

„„

Sexual Victimization Reported by Adult Correctional
Authorities, 2009–11, NCJ 243904, January 2014.

„„

Sexual Violence Reported by Juvenile Correctional
Authorities, 2005–06, NCJ 215337, July 2008.

„„

Sexual Victimization in Juvenile Facilities Reported by
Youth, 2012, NCJ 241708, June 2013.

„„

Sexual Victimization in Local Jails Reported by Inmates,
2007, NCJ 221946, June 2008.

„„

Sexual Victimization in Prisons and Jails Reported by
Inmates, 2011–12, NCJ 241399, May 2013.

„„

Sexual Victimization in State and Federal Prisons Reported
by Inmates, 2007, NCJ 219414, December 2007.

„„

Sexual Victimization Reported by Former State Prisoners,
2008, NCJ 237363, May 2012.

„„

Sexual Violence Reported by Correctional Authorities,
2006, NCJ 218914, August 2007.

„„

Sexual Victimization Reported by Adult Correctional
Authorities, 2007–2008, NCJ 231172, January 2011.

„„

Sexual Violence Reported by Correctional Authorities,
2005, NCJ 214646, July 2006.

„„

Sexual Victimization in Prisons and Jails Reported by
Inmates, 2008–09, NCJ 231169, August 2010.

„„

Sexual Violence Reported by Correctional Authorities,
2004, NCJ 210333, July 2005.

PREA DATA COLLECTION ACTIVITIES, 2014 | MAY 2014	

4

The Bureau of Justice Statistics is the statistics agency of the U.S.
Department of Justice. William J. Sabol is the acting director.
This report was written by Allen J. Beck, Ph.D., BJS statistician.
Vanessa Curto and Jill Thomas edited the report. Tina Dorsey and
Barbara Quinn produced the report.
May 2014, NCJ 245694

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