Pen. Code, § 2637 · Article 3. Sexual Abuse in Detention

Pen. Code, § 2637

Verbatim from the official edition

Text — As published in the Legislative Counsel's database, tables dated October 18, 2026 (pubinfo_2025.zip)

The Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation shall ensure that its protocols for responding to sexual abuse include all of the following:

(a) The safety of an inmate or ward who alleges that he or she has been the victim of sexual abuse shall be immediately and discreetly ensured. Staff shall provide the safest possible housing options to inmates and wards who have experienced repeated abuse. Housing options may include discreet institution transfers.

(b) Inmates and wards who file complaints of sexual abuse shall not be punished, either directly or indirectly, for doing so. If a person is segregated for his or her own protection, segregation must be nondisciplinary.

(c) Any person who knowingly or willfully submits inaccurate or untruthful information in regards to sexual abuse is punishable pursuant to department regulations.

(d) Under no circumstances is it appropriate to suggest that an inmate should fight to avoid sexual violence or to suggest that the reported sexual abuse is not significant enough to be addressed by staff.

(e) Staff shall not discriminate in their response to inmates and wards who are gay, bisexual, or transgender who experience sexual aggression, or report that they have experienced sexual abuse.

(f) Retaliation against an inmate or ward for making an allegation of sexual abuse shall be strictly prohibited.

Notes and commentary — not statutory text

History

Added by Stats. 2005, Ch. 303, Sec. 3. Effective January 1, 2006.

Source of truth

Edition: As published in the Legislative Counsel's database, tables dated October 18, 2026 (pubinfo_2025.zip)
Official file: https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/codes_displaySection.xhtml?lawCode=PEN&sectionNum=2637.
Text hash: sha256 6695e7b9747cec23a15aefdab4dba14075f8733e1a05421b921c22eb7421c382
Composed by: compose_ca.py 2026-10-22: the Legislative Counsel's CAML content files read by a tokenizer (caml_readers.reader_a); an independent xml.etree reading (caml_readers.reader_b) agrees on every section

Procedural information only. Not legal advice and not a substitute for the advice of an attorney. Confirm the current text with the official publisher before relying on it.