Blackburn, Ossoff Bill to Prevent Sexual Abuse of Prison Staff Passes Senate

Blackburn, Ossoff Bill to Prevent Sexual Abuse of Prison Staff Passes Senate
April 30, 2025
WASHINGTON, D.C.
– Yesterday, the Senate passed the
Prison Staff Safety Enhancement Act
introduced by U.S. Senators
Marsha Blackburn
(R-Tenn.) and
Jon Ossoff
(D-Ga.) to help address the increasingly pervasive sexual assault and harassment of Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) employees by inmates:
“
No law enforcement officer or federal employee should fear for their safety on the job, and we need to eradicate sexual assault and harassment of vulnerable staff members in our prison system. The
Prison Staff Safety Enhancement Act
is a critical move toward protecting prison staff, and I’m pleased to see it one step closer to becoming law,”
said Senator Blackburn
.
“I remain focused on oversight of the Federal prison system and ending sexual abuse in prisons and jails, including the abuse of prison staff. Senator Blackburn and I brought Republicans and Democrats together to pass this bipartisan bill to help end sexual abuse in Federal prisons,”
said Senator Ossoff
.
BACKGROUND
According to a February 2023
report
by the U.S. Department of Justice Office of the Inspector General (DOJ OIG), a staggering 40% of 7,000 surveyed BOP staff stated they had been sexually harassed or sexually assaulted by an inmate.
The 2023 report found that the BOP has inadequate data on inmate-on-staff sexual harassment and assault and has not been able to fully ascertain the scope of this widespread problem.  The report also made a number of significant recommendations for the BOP to implement to help the agency better understand and mitigate this nationwide problem.
THE PRISON STAFF SAFETY ENHANCEMENT ACT
The
Prison Staff Safety Enhancement Act
would require:
The BOP to fully implement the recommendations in the Inspector General’s 2023 report regarding mitigating inmate-on-staff sexual harassment and assault and fully ascertaining the scope of the problem;
The DOJ OIG to conduct an analysis of punishments for sexual harassment and sexual assault in BOP facilities; and
The U.S. Attorney General to promulgate a rule adopting national standards for prevention, reduction, and punishment of sexual assault and harassment of BOP staff by inmates.
Senators Blackburn and Ossoff sent a
letter
to former BOP Director
Colette Peters
requesting that BOP release information about inmate-on-staff sexual assault and harassment reporting procedures, correctional methods, and staff assistance programs.
Council of Prison Locals 33 National President
Brandy Moore White
wrote a
letter
expressing support for this legislation,
as did
Fraternal Order of Police National President
Patrick Yoes
. The American Correctional Association and the National Association of Police Organizations have also endorsed this critical bill.
RELATED
Blackburn, Ossoff Introduce Bill to Prevent Sexual Abuse of Prison Staff
Blackburn, Ossoff Launch Inquiry to Protect Federal Prison Staff from Sexual Assault and Harassment
Click
here
for bill text.
https://www.blackburn.senate.gov/2025/4/crime/blackburn-ossoff-bill-to-prevent-sexual-abuse-of-prison-staff-passes-senate