According to experts, every year, about 30 million people stay in prison or closed correctional facilities, and one in five of them are imprisoned for drug-related crimes. UNAIDS estimates that people in prison are five times more likely to become infected with HIV. The World Health Organization (WHO) claims the difference as even more striking, estimating that these people are infected with HIV 15 times more often (‘Prisoners, HIV and AIDS’, 2019). These data lead to a logical conclusion that it is necessary to raise the issue of interrupting the spread of HIV and AIDS among those who are in custody.
As a prison administrator, I am inclined to the need to conduct regular voluntary tests for HIV infection among prisoners in order to prevent its spread. The risk of contracting HIV or AIDS is extremely high in prison conditions due to many factors. One of the most common is unprotected sex between prisoners due to the unavailability of contraceptives and a high level of violence, which leads to an increase in sexual harassment. Also, the infection can be transmitted during the insertion of a tattoo needle under the skin, which is quite common in prisons. All these factors prove that the spread of infection in closed settings would never stop, so prison wardens should adhere to the idea of introducing regular voluntary tests. HIV tests must be performed before admission to a correctional institution, during the stay in prison, and just prior to release. This approach will help to provide prisoners with a timely medical examination and, if necessary, advise on further actions. HIV is not a fatal diagnosis and can receive the same treatment from a qualified doctor that any other disease receives. Mental health care (such as counseling) and psychosocial support programs (such as support groups) can reduce the self-stigma associated with HIV status and promote adherence to treatment. (UNAIDS, 2019). Consultations can prevent the premature spread of infection and increase the prisoners’ awareness to cope with them after release.
I also do not hold the view that HIV-infected prisoners should be segregated, as people outside closed settings are not isolated either. Isolation of prisoners can cause irreparable harm to their mental health and stigmatize the image of an HIV-infected person as a dangerous patient, which has long been refuted by scientists. Harmful effects include untreated mental illness, medication side effects, lack of trust in the medical provider or in the benefit of taking anti-retroviral medications, and social isolation (Strick & Budak, 2020). Speaking for the isolation, prison administrators contribute to the development of a false stereotype about the harmfulness of HIV-infected people to others. In my opinion, segregation will be a violation of human rights that people should have, even while in prison. Moreover, there are many pressing problems for prison inmates, for example, the spread of violence, which carries a more obvious danger to their health than HIV. The segregation will only worsen the situation of individual prisoners, increasing their stress level while in prison, and HIV-infected people who remain at large.
From all of the above, it follows that HIV-infected prisoners should have the same access to timely and high-quality medical care as the population. As a prison warden, I advocate for regular tests and the absence of segregation. Further discussion of the problem should be considered only from the side of what resources prisoners need for medical consultation of HIV-infected people.
References
Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS. (2019). Health, Rights and Drugs: Harm Reduction, Decriminalization and Zero Discrimination for People Who Use Drugs. UNAIDS, 1-68.
Prisoners, HIV and AIDS. (2019). Avert. Web.
Strick, L. B., Budak, J. Z. (2020). HIV and Corrections. National HIV Curriculum. Web.