New Prison Bill Mandates Housing Inmates by Biological Sex, Threatening State Funding

The “Preventing Violence Against Female Inmates Act of 2025” is a piece of legislation that aims to fundamentally change how federal and state correctional facilities house incarcerated individuals. The core of the bill is simple: it mandates that housing decisions must be based strictly on an inmate’s biological sex.

The New Rulebook for Federal Prisons

For the federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP), this bill adds a new section, 4052, to Title 18 of the U.S. Code, forcing a specific, strict definition of sex for housing. Biological sex is defined here by “reproductive potential, chromosomes, hormones, and genitalia present at birth.” Essentially, the BOP must generally ensure that inmates who do not share this exact biological sex definition are not housed in the same detention areas. While the bill allows for temporary exceptions, the default setting is hard segregation based on birth characteristics. This means the BOP loses discretion to use individualized assessments or gender identity when determining where an inmate can safely be placed.

State Funding on the Line

This isn't just a federal issue; it uses federal funding as a hammer against states. If a state receives money under the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 (a major source of federal funding for state and local law enforcement), they must certify compliance with this new housing rule. Starting in the first fiscal year after enactment, states must prohibit housing people of different biological sexes together, using the same strict definition of biological sex required of the federal system. If a state doesn't certify that they’re following this rule, they risk losing that federal funding stream. This puts state departments of corrections in a tough spot, forcing them to adopt a potentially restrictive policy or face significant budget cuts.

Who This Impacts and How

While the bill is framed around preventing violence against female inmates, the means it uses—the rigid definition of biological sex—has immediate and serious implications for transgender and non-binary individuals in custody. Current best practices often involve individualized assessments to determine the safest housing placement for transgender inmates, sometimes placing transgender women in women’s facilities. This bill overrides that. Under this law, a transgender woman—who would not meet the bill's definition of biological female based on chromosomes and birth genitalia—would likely be housed in a men’s facility. This is a significant concern because forcing transgender women into male facilities dramatically increases their risk of sexual assault and violence, directly contradicting the bill's stated goal of preventing violence. Similarly, transgender men would likely be required to be housed in women’s facilities.

For state administrators, the challenge is compliance. Losing federal funds is a significant threat, especially for states already grappling with tight budgets. They must now overhaul their entire classification system to meet this specific, federally mandated definition of biological sex, shifting resources away from other pressing operational needs just to keep the federal money flowing. This legislation creates a clear, binary mandate that simplifies classification but complicates the already difficult task of ensuring safety for all incarcerated individuals.