This toolkit on HIV and AIDS in prisons aims to provide information and guidance primarily to individuals and institutions with responsibilities for prisons and prisoners, and to people who work in and with prisons. In addition, it will assist everyone who has anything to do with prisons.
It is written primarily for use in low- and middle-income countries, but will also be a useful resource for individuals and institutions in high-income countries. Its focus is on HIV, but it recognizes that other diseases—in particular hepatitis and tuberculosis—are linked to HIV and also represent serious problems in prisons.
The toolkit is divided into five modules
- Module 1 is for anyone who has anything to do with prisons and should be read in conjunction with the other modules. It provides essential background information about HIV and explains why and how addressing HIV in prisons is linked to the wider questions of prison reform and to human rights.
- Module 2 is intended primarily for policymakers, politicians and legislators who are responsible for developing policies and laws on prisons, criminal justice, and health.
- Module 3 is intended primarily for those who have responsibilities for the management of prison systems and individual prisons.
- Module 4 is intended primarily for people who work in prisons and provide security or programmes for prisoners on a day-to-day basis. We hope it will be useful to:
- Prison officers;
- Teachers and instructors working in prisons;
- Civil society organizations, including volunteers and staff of non-governmental organizations, including faith-based organizations, who visit prisons and undertake activities in prisons.
- Module 5 is intended primarily for health staff who work in prisons. We hope it will be useful to:
- Medical doctors;
- Nursing staff;
- Paramedical and ancillary workers;
- Counsellors and psychiatrists.
Each module takes a similar approach and discusses the same issues, but identifies the issues that are of particular relevance for the different target audiences and what those audiences can and must do to address HIV in prisons. Although much can be done by individuals committed to particular parts of the overall task of addressing HIV in prisons, an appropriate response can best be achieved if all partners are active and involved.
Why a toolkit on HIV in prisons?
HIV is a serious health threat for prison populations, and poses significant challenges for prison and public health authorities and national governments. Worldwide, the levels of HIV infection among prison populations tend to be higher than in the populations outside prisons. This situation is often accompanied and exacerbated by high rates of other infections such as hepatitis B and C and tuberculosis.