# Plain Language Summary: Preventing Violence Against Female Inmates Act of 2023

This bill requires federal prisons and state prisons to house inmates separately based on biological sex, with very limited exceptions. Specifically, the law says that the Bureau of Prisons (which runs federal facilities) and state prison systems must use a person's biological sex—defined in the bill as determined by sex chromosomes, hormones, reproductive organs, and genitalia present at birth—when deciding where to house them. The only exception allowed is temporary daytime co-location for specific activities, but overnight housing must be sex-separated.

For federal prisons, this requirement becomes law immediately if passed. For state prisons, the bill uses financial incentives to encourage compliance: states that don't adopt this same housing policy will lose federal funding they currently receive for criminal justice programs. This creates pressure on states to change their housing policies to match the federal standard or risk losing money.

The bill's stated purpose is to protect incarcerated women from violence and sexual assault. Supporters argue that separating inmates by biological sex reduces safety risks. However, the bill's specific definition of biological sex and its housing requirements could significantly affect transgender and non-binary inmates, who would be housed according to their sex assigned at birth rather than their gender identity. This could create safety concerns for some vulnerable individuals in the prison system, depending on their circumstances and the facility's conditions.

Preventing Violence Against Female Inmates Act of 2023

Crawford, Eric A. "Rick"

Preventing Violence Against Female Inmates Act of 2023 This bill establishes a framework to prohibit correctional institutions at the federal and state levels from housing inmates of one biological sex with inmates of the other biological sex.