Prisoners
Estimations show that at any given time there are more than 9 million people in prison worldwide, with an annual turnover of 30 million prisoners moving from prison to the community and back again. Prisons are an extremely high-risk environment for HIV infection. It is there where you find: drug abuse, unsafe needle use (including tattooing), violence, rape and unprotected sex.
These high-risk factors are present due to the fact that:
- Prisoners often come from marginalised groups
- The use of contaminated needles is much higher inside than outside prison
- Male-to-male sexual activity is often higher inside prison
- There is generally no access to sterile injecting equipment or condoms
WHO recommends the following strategy for HIV prevention in prisons:
- Providing prison staff with what is required so they can give basic information regarding HIV transmission.
- Clinical management of drug-dependent prisoners.
- Follow-up care with links to community services.
- Harm reduction activities: clinical treatment programmes, opium substitution maintenance therapy, needle and syringe exchange programme (equivalent to that available in the community) and effective methods for disinfecting needles, syringes and tattooing equipment.
