NCJ Number
152605
Journal
Current Issues in Criminal Justice Volume: 4 Issue: 1 Dated: (July 1992) Pages: 37-46
Date Published
1992
Length
10 pages
Annotation
This analysis of policies related to AIDS in correctional facilities in Australia notes that prisons have particular risk factors and that Australia has not yet effectively addressed the problem of AIDS transmission in prisons, despite the increasingly progressive and effective policies implemented in other high-risk groups in the community.
Abstract
AIDS transmission in prisons should be regarded as a high priority for both corrections and public health policy, because HIV transmission in prisons has the potential to cause an HIV epidemic in the community at large. The majority of inmates are sexually active young heterosexual males serving short custodial sentences for relatively minor offenses. Upon release, they resume or establish sexual relationships, creating the potential for both perinatal and heterosexual transmission outside the recognized high-risk groups. Although policymakers recognize the seriousness of the problem, they have not yet established appropriate policies or provided funding. To do so, they must recognize that HIV prevention in prisons is inextricably linked with the politics of law and order and that an intelligent and effective approach must confront the ramifications of the political debate. Footnotes