Federal, state, and local officials were asked to enforce the Obama administration’s new statutes under the Prison Rape Elimination Act of 2003. The new regulations require all federal confinement facilities and other agencies with confinement facilities to adopt protocol to stop rapes within the year. According to a study released by the Justice Department, one in ten inmates report at least one incident of sexual victimization by prison staff or other inmates during incarceration.

"Sexual violence, against any victim, is an assault on human dignity and an affront to American values," said President Barack Obama. States that don't fall in line will face a loss of 5 percent of their Justice Department prison money unless their governor certifies that the same amount of money is being used to bring the state into compliance. The new regulation will also apply to Homeland Security, who will have similar rules in place by this time next year.