Injecting drug use and incarceration are closely linked; many injecting drug users (IDUs) pass through the correctional system because of drug-related offences. As IDUs are at a greater risk of HIV infection, this group is often more likely to be infected with HIV than other incarcerated populations. In the absence of HIV preventative measures in prisons, this can pose a greater risk of HIV transmission among inmates.
HIV transmission in prison:
“Prison conditions are often ideal breeding grounds for onward transmission of HIV infection. They are frequently overcrowded. They commonly operate in an atmosphere of violence and fear. Tensions abound, including sexual tensions. Release from these tensions, and from the boredom of prison life, is often found in the consumption of drugs or in sex.” UNAIDS
Sexual transmission
Tattooing
Violence
Education
Harm reduction programmes
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Condom distribution
HIV testing in prisons