INTRODUCTION: In 1999, The American University, Washington College of Law (WCL) entered into a cooperative agreement with the National Institute of Corrections (NIC) to provide training to high level correctional decision makers on addressing and investigating staff sexual misconduct. With the enactment of the Prison Rape Elimination Act in 2003, the Project’s focus shifted to addressing prison rape – both staff sexual misconduct with offenders and offender on offender sexual violence and abuse. This publication as well as others published by the NIC/WCL Project on Addressing Prison Rape are a critical part of NIC’s response to its obligation to provide training, education, information and assistance under § 5 of the Prison Rape Elimination Act of 2003.