HIV/AIDS in prison : the public policy challenge for South Africa.
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Date
2001
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Abstract
In South Africa, both the number of people entering prison, and the number of
people infected with HIV, are steadily increasing. While reliable statistics are not
available on the number of HIV+ prisoners, the characteristics of the typical prisoner
are those of a demographic group at high risk for HIV infection. As a result, many
prisoners will already be HIV positive upon entering the prison. Additionally, the
prison environment creates many situations of high risk behaviour for HIV
transmission, which means there is also an as yet undetermined portion of inmates
who will contract HIV while incarcerated.
The current government policy is to provide HIV testing and condoms in
conjunction with counselling, although poor design and implementation of this policy
has limited its impact. In addition to issues of HIV infection and transmission, the
government must address the needs of prisoners who have developed full-blown
AlDS and will likely die as a result while imprisoned. AIDS is already the leading
cause of death for prisoners in many countries, as well as in South Africa Adequate
medical care, proper nutrition, and early release for those in the late stages of AIDS,
are the international standards for minimum humane treatment of these prisoners.
Today, crippling bureaucracy prevents the humanitarian release of dying· prisoners
from South African prisons.
Reliable data on the nature and extent of HIV/AIDS infection in South African
prisons has yet to be obtained, owing to the closed nature of the prison administration.
In order to design and implement effective policies, the secrecy surrounding the
prison system must be eliminated so that further research and study may take place.
Unlinked, anonymous HIV testing should be undertaken on a sample of the prison
population so that accurate information and projections about HIV/AIDS in prison
may become available. Until the government allows the issue to be quantified, the
design and implementation of better policies will not be possible.
The best HIV/AIDS policies are those which recognise the impact of
prisoners' health on public health in general. Because the prisoner population consists of a core transmitter group, the pnson provides a critical intervention
opponunity for the prevention of HIV infection in the greater community Further
research on this issue should therefore focus on the evaluation, design, and
implementation of intervention programs Intervention in the prison environment
should include targeted education and use of existing gang structures to engender
behavioural change
The issues of HIV/AIDS in prison are compounded by issues of prison reform
in general. The conditions in South Africa prisons are unconsitutional, and exacerbate
the problems presented by HIV/AlDS. The most pressing problem in South African
prisons is overcrowding; a problem which the Department of Correctional Services is
all but powerless to address. Just as HIV/AIDS in the general community requires a
multi-sectoral solution, so too does HIV/AIDS in the correctional setting. The
Department of Correctional Services must re-evaluate both its policies and its entire
policy making process in order to address HIV/AIDS in South African prisons.
Description
Thesis (M.A.)-University of Natal,Durban, 2001.
Keywords
AIDS (Disease)--Government policy--South Africa., AIDS (Disease)--Political aspects--South Africa., AIDS (Disease)--Social aspects--South Africa., Theses--Political science.