# 119-s-2985: Preventing Violence Against Female Inmates Act of 2025

119-s-2985, Preventing Violence Against Female Inmates Act of 2025, is a 119th Congress bill sponsored by Sen. Cotton, Tom [R-AR] (R-AR); status introduced (as of 2026-10-21).

- Canonical: https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-2985
- As of: 2026-10-21
- Plain-text twin of the page above; the HTML and this file carry the same facts.

## Facts
- Bill: 119-s-2985
- Congress: 119
- Title: Preventing Violence Against Female Inmates Act of 2025
- Status: introduced
- Introduced: 2025-10-08
- Sponsor: Sen. Cotton, Tom [R-AR] (R-AR)
- Cosponsors: 1
- Policy area: Crime and Law Enforcement
- Touches household money: no
- Last recorded action: 2026-10-21

## Summary

**Require inmate housing based on biological sex assigned at birth.** The bill would define "biological sex" by chromosomes, sex hormones, gonads, and nonambiguous internal and external genitalia present at birth and direct federal and state prison housing to follow that definition. - People in custody: Federal housing decisions would use the bill's definition of biological sex. Facilities may not co-locate people of different biological sexes, with a single exception for temporary placements that do not include overnight housing. - State governments: To receive grants under the amended subpart, a State must certify to the Attorney General that it bars co-locating people of different biological sexes in detention and that it uses biological sex for housing determinations. That certification requirement begins in the first fiscal year after enactment. - Federal operations: The bill adds a new Section 4052 to Title 18 directing the Bureau of Prisons to follow the biological sex rule and makes a conforming amendment to the chapter's table of sections. The text includes a placeholder tag indicating additional related provisions may follow.

## Cosponsors (1)

- Sen. Capito, Shelley Moore [R-WV] (R-WV), 2025-10-09T00:00:00.000Z

## Provisions PRIA read

- Federal prisons must use biological sex: mixed, medium. If enacted, this bill would define “biological sex” for prison housing by chromosomes, hormones, gonads, and nonambiguous genitalia present at birth. It would require the Bureau of Prisons to use that biological sex when placing people. The Bureau could not house people of different biological sexe…
- States must certify inmate housing by sex: mixed, medium. If enacted, this bill would make a State ineligible for certain federal grants unless it certifies to the Attorney General that it separates inmates by biological sex as defined in Sec. 4052. The rule would begin the first fiscal year after enactment. States may allow temporary co-location only for…

## Related bills

- 119-s-2342: Intelligence Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2026
- 119-s-4949: Water Resources Development Act of 2026
- 119-s-4615: Intelligence Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2027
- 119-s-1748: Kids Online Safety Act
- 119-s-292: Educational Choice for Children Act of 2025
- 119-s-541: ELITE Vehicles Act

## Sources
- [119-s-2985 on Congress.gov](https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/senate-bill/2985)

## Related
- [119-s-2342: Intelligence Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2026](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-2342)
- [119-s-4949: Water Resources Development Act of 2026](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-4949)
- [119-s-4615: Intelligence Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2027](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-4615)
- [119-s-1748: Kids Online Safety Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-1748)
- [119-s-292: Educational Choice for Children Act of 2025](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-292)
- [119-s-541: ELITE Vehicles Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-541)
- [All bills in Congress](https://policyrisk.com/legislation)

Source: PRIA, https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-2985 (as of 2026-10-21).