UN - HIV and Prison - Policy Brief
UN - HIV and Prison - Policy Brief
UN - HIV and Prison - Policy Brief
Policy brief HIV prevention, treatment and care in prisons and other closed settings: a comprehensive package of interventions
Each year over 30 million men and women spend time in prisons and other closed settings,* of whom over one third are pretrial detainees.1 Virtually all of them will return to their communities, many within a few months to a year. Globally, the prevalence of HIV, sexually transmitted infections, hepatitis B and C and tuberculosis in prison populations is 2 to 10 times as high, and in some cases may be up to 50 times as high, as in the general population.2 HIV rates are particularly high among women in detention. Risks affect prisoners, those working in prisons, their families and the entire community. For these reasons, it is essential to provide HIV interventions in these settings, both for prisoners and for those employed by prison authorities.**,3 However, access to HIV prevention, treatment and care programmes is often lacking in prisons and other closed settings. Few countries implement comprehensive HIV prevention, treatment and care programmes in prisons. Many fail to link their programmes in prisons to the national AIDS, tuberculosis or public health programmes. Many fail to provide adequate occupational health services to staff working in prisons.4 In addition to HIV risk behaviours, such as unsafe sexual activities and injecting drug use, factors related to the prison infrastructure, prison management and the criminal justice system also contribute to vulnerability to HIV, tuberculosis
*In this paper, the term prisons and other closed settings refers to all places of detention within a country, and the terms prisoners and detainees to all those detained in those places, including adults and juveniles, during the investigation of a crime, while awaiting trial, after conviction, before sentencing and after sentencing. **Those employed in prisons and closed settings could include prison officialsincluding government officialssecurity officers, prison wardens, guards and drivers, and other employees, such as food services, medical and cleaning staff.
and other health risks in prisons. These factors include overcrowding, violence, poor prison conditions, corruption, denial, stigma, lack of protection for vulnerable prisoners, lack of training for prison staff, and poor medical and social services.5 Finally, addressing HIV in prisons effectively cannot be separated from broader questions of criminal justice and national policy. In particular, reducing the excessive use of pretrial detention and greatly increasing the use of non-custodial alternatives to imprisonment are essential components of any response to HIV and other health issues in prisons and other closed settings.
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Condom programmes
In all closed settings, both for men and for women, condoms and water-based lubricant should be provided free of charge. They should be made easily and discreetly accessible to prisoners at various locations without their having to request them and without their being seen by others.10 Condoms should also be provided for intimate visits.
Policies and strategies for the prevention, detection and elimination of all forms of violence, particularly sexual violence, should be implemented in prisons.11 Vulnerable prisoners, such as people with different sexual orientation, young offenders and women, must always be held separately from adult or male offenders. Appropriate measures should be established to report and address instances of violence.
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Prevention of transmission through tattooing, piercing and other forms of skin penetration
Authorities should implement initiatives aimed at reducing the sharing and reuse of equipment used for tattooing, piercing and other forms of skin penetration, and the related infections.17
Post-exposure prophylaxis
Post-exposure prophylaxis should be made accessible to victims of sexual assault and to other prisoners exposed to HIV. Clear guidelines should be developed and communicated to prisoners, health-care staff and other employees.18, 19
10 11
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In particular, people living with HIV should be screened for tuberculosis and people with tuberculosis should be advised to have an HIV test. All people living with HIV without symptoms of active tuberculosis (no current cough, fever, weight loss or night sweats) should be offered isoniazid preventive therapy. Prisons and cells should be well ventilated and have good natural light. Tuberculosis patients should be segregated until they are no longer infectious, and education activities should cover coughing etiquette and respiratory hygiene. Tuberculosis programmes, including treatment protocols, should be aligned and coordinated with or integrated in national tuberculosis control programmes and work closely with the HIV programme. Continuity of treatment is essential to prevent the development of resistance and must be ensured at all stages of detention.
12 13 14 15
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Additional interventions
Some other interventions have not been included in the package of 15 key interventions but nevertheless are important and should not be overlooked. These include the distribution of toothbrushes and shavers in basic hygiene kits, adequate nutrition, intimatevisit programmes, palliative care and compassionate release for terminal cases.
covenants.29 The right to health includes the right to medical treatment and to preventive measures as well as to standards of health care at least equivalent to those available in the community.30 Access to health services in prisons should be consistent with medical ethics, national standards, guidelines and control mechanisms. Similarly, prison staff need a safe workplace and have the right to proper protection and adequate occupational health services. Protecting and promoting the health of detainees goes beyond simply diagnosing and treating diseases as they appear in individual detainees. It includes issues of hygiene, nutrition, access to meaningful activity, recreation and sport, contact with family, freedom from violence or abuse by other detainees and freedom from physical abuse, torture and cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment at the hands of prison officers.31 Medical ethics should always guide all health interventions in closed settings, and therefore interventions should always be geared towards the best interests of the patient. All treatments should be voluntary, with the informed consent of the patient, and people living with HIV should not be segregated.32 These principles recognize that some groups of prisoners have special needs to be addressed and that incarceration is not a treatment for mentally ill people or for drug dependent people, for example. The principles also include safeguards against arbitrary arrest and extended pretrial detention, which are inextricably linked to overcrowding and the transmission of HIV, sexually transmitted infections, viral hepatitis and tuberculosis in closed settings.
Guiding principles
1. Prison health is part of public health
The vast majority of people in prisons eventually return to their communities. Any diseases contracted in closed settings, or made worse by poor conditions of confinement, become matters of public health.27, 28 HIV, hepatitis and tuberculosis and all other aspects of physical and mental health in prisons should be the concern of health professionals on both sides of the prison walls. It is pivotal to foster and strengthen collaboration, coordination and integration among all stakeholders, including ministries of health and other ministries with responsibilities in prisons, as well as community-based service providers. Equally important is ensuring continuity of care. In order to ensure that the benefits of treatment (such as antiretroviral therapy, tuberculosis treatment, viral hepatitis treatment or opioid substitution therapy) started before or during imprisonment are not lost, as well as to prevent the development of resistance to medications, provision must be made to allow people to continue these treatments without interruption, at all stages of detention: while the person is in police and pretrial detention, in prison, during institutional transfers and after release.
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1. Ensure that prison settings are included in national HIV, tuberculosis and drug dependence treatment programming
A health-in-prisons programme should be an integral part of national efforts to provide access to HIV and tuberculosis services, as well as to evidencebased drug dependence treatment.33 Prison authorities should establish strong linkages with community-based care and involve outside service providers in delivering care in prisons. Whenever adequate care cannot be provided in prisons, detainees should be able to access health services in the community.
Additional reading
This policy brief and its recommendations are based on a comprehensive review and analysis of evidence, on existing United Nations guidance and on an extensive consultation process regarding HIV in prisons. For more details and for a complete list of references, see the technical background paper on HIV prevention, treatment and care in prisons and other closed settings: a comprehensive package of interventions (see www.unodc.org/aids). This brief is part of a set of documents produced by WHO, UNODC and UNAIDS aimed at providing evidence-based information and guidance to countries on HIV prevention, treatment, care and support in prisons and other closed settings. HIV testing and counselling in prisons and other closed settings (2009).
This policy brief and its technical background document provide guidance on how to provide evidencebased and human rights-based access to HIV testing in prisons. www.unodc.org/documents/hivaids/UNODC_WHO_UNAIDS_2009 _ Policy_brief_HIV_TC_in_prisons_ ebook_ENG.pdf
Policy brief
Women in prisons
Women prisoners present specic challenges for correctional authorities despite, or perhaps because of the fact that they constitute a very small proportion of the prison population. The prole and background of women in prison, and the reasons for which they are imprisoned, are different from those of men in the same situation.4 In particular, injecting drug users and sex workers are overrepresented. Once in prison, womens psychological, social and health care needs will also be different. It follows that all facets of prison facilities, programmes and services must be tailored to meet the particular needs of women offenders. Existing prison facilities, programmes and services for women inmates have all been developed initially for men, who have historically accounted for the largest proportion of the prison population.
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Evidence for Action Technical Papers: Effectiveness of Interventions to Address HIV in Prisons (2007).
EVIDENCE FOR ACTION TECHNICAL PAPERS
These papers provide a comprehensive review of the effectiveness of interventions to address HIV in prison settings. Currently available in English and Russian. www.who.int/hiv/pub/prisons/ e4a_prisons/en/index.html
HIV/AIDS Prevention, Care, Treatment, and Support in Prison Settings: A Framework for an Effective National Response (2006).
A Framework for an Effective National Response
This publication provides a framework for mounting an effective national response to HIV in prisons. Available in various languages. www.unodc.org/unodc/en/hivaids/publications.html
WHO/HIV/2004.05
he rates of HIV infection among inmates of prisons and other detention centres in many countries are signicantly higher than those in the general population. Examples include countries in Western and Eastern Europe, Africa, Latin America and Asia. The available data on HIV infection rates in prisons cover inmates who were infected outside the institutions before imprisonment and persons who were infected inside the institutions through the sharing of contaminated injection equipment or through unprotected sex. Certain populations that are highly vulnerable to HIV infection have a heightened probability of incarceration because of their involvement in behaviours such as drug use and sex work.
together with specic detailed instructions on cleaning injecting equipment, should be made available in prisons housing injecting drug users or where tattooing or skin piercing occurs. In countries where clean syringes and needles are made available to injecting drug users in the community, consideration should be given to providing clean injecting equipment during detention and on release to prisoners who request this. Since the early 1990s, various countries have introduced prevention programmes in prisons. Such programmes usually include education on HIV/AIDS, voluntary testing and counselling, the distribution of condoms, bleach, needles and syringes, and substitution therapy for injecting drug users. In 1991, 16 of 52 criminal justice systems surveyed in Europe had made bleach available, and by 1997 about 50% had done so. Various countries provide clean needles and syringes to inmates and implement substitution treatment. However, many of these programmes are small in scale and restricted to a few prisons. None of the countries where evaluations of such programmes have been carried out have reversed their policies.
EVIDENCE
Four elements of prevention programmes in prisons have been studied extensively: the provision of bleach
1
World Health Organization. HIV in prisons: A reader with particular relevance to the newly independent states. In: WHO guidelines on HIV infection and AIDS in prisons, Copenhagen: World Health Organization; 2001. p. 233-7.
www.who.int/hiv/topics/idu/prisons/en/index.html
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"" Reduce incarceration of people who use drugs and people with mental health problems. A significant percentage of the prison population comprises individuals convicted of offences related to their own drug use, who are drug dependent or live with mental health problems. Many of the problems created by HIV infection, drug use and mental health issues in closed settings may be reduced if (a) non-custodial alternatives to imprisonment are implemented in the community; (b) drug laws are reformed to reduce incarceration for drug use and for possession of drugs for personal use; and (c) evidence-based services, including drug and mental health treatment, are accessible in the community.39,40 "" End the use of compulsory detention for the purpose of drug dependence treatment. In a number of countries, people identified as using drugs are detained in closed centres in the name of treatment or rehabilitation. Such detention usually takes place without due process or clinical assessment. Prisoners are often denied evidence-based drug dependence treatment and HIV-related and other basic health services To protect their health and human rights, prisoners should be released and the centres closed.41 Until they are closed, providing HIV interventions in the centres is required, but without legitimizing the existence of those centres.
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notes
1 Open Society Foundations, Improving health in pretrial detention: pilot interventions and the need for evaluation (New York, 2011). Available from www.opensocietyfoundations.org/publications/improving -health-pretrial-detention. 2 WHO, UNODC, UNAIDS. Interventions to address HIV in prisons. Evidence for action technical papers. Geneva, WHO, 2007. Available at www.who.int/hiv/pub/prisons/e4a_prisons/en/index.html. 3 International Labour Organization, Recommendation (No. 200) concerning HIV and AIDS and the World of Work, 2010. Available from www.ilo.org/aids/WCMS_142706/lang--en/index.htm. 4 World Health Organization, International Labour Organization and Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS, The Joint WHO-ILO-UNAIDS policy guidelines on improving health workers access to HIV and TB prevention, treatment, care and support services: a guidance note (Geneva, International Labour Office, 2010). 5 United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, World Health Organization and Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS, HIV in Places of Detention: A Toolkit for Policymakers, Programme Managers, Prison Officers and Health Care Providers in Prison Settings (Vienna, United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, 2008). Available from www.unodc.org/documents/hiv-aids/V0855768.pdf. 6 7 8
International Labour Organization, Forced Labour Convention, 1930 (No. 29). International Labour Organization, Abolition of Forced Labour Convention, 1957 (No.105).
International Labour Organization, Recommendation (No. 200) concerning HIV and AIDS and the World of Work, 2010.
9 O. A. Grinstead and others, Reducing post-release HIV risk among male prison inmates: a peer-led intervention, Criminal Justice and Behavior, vol. 26, No. 4 (1999), pp. 453-465; R. S. Broadhead and others, Drug users versus outreach workers in combating AIDS: preliminary results of a peer-driven intervention, Journal of Drug Issues, vol. 25, No. 3 (1995), pp. 531-564; R. S. Broadhead and others, Harnessing peer networks as an instrument for AIDS prevention: results from a peer-driven intervention, Public Health Reports, vol. 113, Suppl. 1 (1998), pp. 42-57. 10 World Health Organization, United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime and Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS, Interventions to Address HIV in Prisons: Prevention of Sexual Transmission, Evidence for Action Technical Papers (Geneva, World Health Organization, 2007). 11 Ibid. 12 World Health Organization, United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime and Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS, Interventions to Address HIV in Prisons:Drug Dependence Treatments, Evidence for Action Technical Papers (Geneva, World Health Organization, 2007). 13 R. Jrgens, A. Ball and A. Verster, Interventions to reduce HIV transmission related to injecting drug use in prison, Lancet Infectious Diseases, vol. 9, No. 1 (2009), pp. 57-66. 14 World Health Organization, United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime and Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS, Interventions to Address HIV in Prisons: Needle and Syringe Programmes and Decontamination Strategies, Evidence for Action Technical Papers (Geneva, World Health Organization, 2007). 15 World Health Organization, Revised Injection Safety Assessment Tool (Tool C Revised): Tool for the Assessment of Injection Safety and the Safety of Phlebotomy, Lancet Procedures, Intravenous Injections and Infusions (Geneva, 2008). Available from www.who.int/injection_safety/Injection_safety_final-web.pdf. 16 World Health Organization and International Labour Organization, Joint ILO/WHO Guidelines on Health Services and HIV/AIDS (Geneva, International Labour Office, 2005). Available from www.ilo.org/aids/ Publications/WCMS_116240/lang--en/index.htm . 17 World Health Organization, United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime and Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS, Interventions to Address HIV in Prisons: Needle and Syringe Programmes and Decontamination Strategies. 18 World Health Organization and International Labour Organization, Post-exposure Prophylaxis to Prevent HIV Infection: Joint WHO/ILO Guidelines on Post-exposure Prophylaxis (PEP) to Prevent HIV Infection (Geneva, World Health Organization, 2007). Available from http://whqlibdoc.who.int/publications/2007/9789241596374_eng.pdf. 19 The Joint WHO-ILO-UNAIDS policy guidelines on improving health workers access to HIV and TB prevention, treatment, care and support services: a guidance note, 2010. www.ilo.org/aids/Publications/ WCMS_149714/lang--en/index.htm. 20 United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, World Health Organization and Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS, HIV testing and counselling in prisons and other closed settings: policy brief (2009). 21 World Health Organization, Antiretroviral Therapy for HIV Infection in Adults and Adolescents: Recommendations for a Public Health Approach2010 Revision (Geneva, 2010). Available from www.who.int/ hiv/pub/arv/adult2010/en/. 22 World Health Organization, Guidelines for Intensified Tuberculosis Case-finding and Isoniazid Preventive Therapy for People Living with HIV in Resource-constrained Settings (Geneva, 2011). 23 World Health Organization, Antiretroviral Drugs for Treating Pregnant Women and Preventing HIV Infection in Infants: Recommendations for a Public Health Approach2010 Version (Geneva, 2010). Available from http://whqlibdoc.who.int/publications/2010/9789241599818_eng.pdf . 24 World Health Organization and others, Towards the Elimination of Mother-to-Child Transmission of HIV (Geneva, World Health Organization, 2011). Available from http://whqlibdoc.who.int/publications/2011/9789241501910_eng.pdf.
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25 World Health Organization and International Labour Organization, Post-exposure Prophylaxis to Prevent HIV Infection. 26 International Labour Organization, Recommendation (No. 200) concerning HIV and AIDS and the World of Work, 2010. 27 See, e.g. World Health Organization, Regional Office for Europe, Declaration on Prison Health as Part of Public Health, adopted at the joint World Health Organization/Russian Federation International Meeting on Prison Health and Public Health, held in Moscow on 24 October 2003. 28 The Madrid Recommendation: Health Protection in Prisons as an Essential Part of Public Health, adopted at a meeting held in Madrid on 29 and 30 October 2010. Available from www.euro.who.int/__data/ assets/pdf_file/0012/111360/E93574.pdf. 29 Basic Principles for the Treatment of Prisoners (General Assembly resolution 45/111, annex). 30 R. Jrgens and B. Betteridge, Prisoners who inject drugs: public health and human rights imperatives, Health and Human Rights vol. 8, No. 2 (2005), pp. 47-74. 31 Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners (Human Rights: A Compilation of Inter national Instruments, Volume I (First Part), Universal Instruments (United Nations publication, Sales No. E.02.XIV.4 (Vol. I, Part 1)), sect. J, No. 34). 32 Principle 1, of the Principles of Medical Ethics relevant to the role of health personnel, particularly physicians, in the protection of prisoners and detainees against torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment (General Assembly resolution 37/194, annex). 33 United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, World Health Organization and Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS, HIV/AIDS Prevention, Care, Treatment and Support in Prison Settings: A Framework for an Effective National Response (Vienna, United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, 2006). 34 Lars Mller and others, eds., Health in Prisons: A WHO Guide to the Essentials in Prison Health (Copenhagen, World Health Organization, Regional Office for Europe, 2007). Available from www.euro.who. int/__data/assets/pdf_file/0009/99018/E90174.pdf. 35 United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime and Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS, Women and HIV in prison settings (2008). 36 B. van den Bergh and others, Womens health in prison: action guidance and checklists to review current policies and practices, (Copenhagen, World Health Organization, Regional Office for Europe, 2011). 37 United Nations Rules for the Treatment of Women Prisoners and Non-custodial Measures for Women Offenders (the Bangkok Rules) (General Assembly resolution 65/229, annex). 38 J. Csete, Consequences of injustice: pre-trial detention and health, International Journal of Prisoner Health, vol 6, no 2 (2010), pp 47-58; R. Jrgens and T. Tomasini-Joshi, Editorial, International Journal of Prisoner Health, vol 6, no 2 (2010), pp 45-46; M. Schnteich, The scale and consequences of pretrial detention around the world, in Justice Initiatives: Pretrial Detention, (Open Society Justice Initiative, Spring 2008), pp. 11-43. 39 Handbook of Basic Principles and Promising Practices on Alternatives to Imprisonment, Criminal Justice Handbook Series (United Nations publication, Sales No. E.07.XI.2). 40 United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, From coercion to cohesion: treating drug dependence through health care, not punishment, discussion paper based on a scientific workshop, Vienna, 28-30 October 2009 (2010). Available from www.unodc.org/docs/treatment/Coercion_Ebook.pdf . 41 International Labour Organization and others, Joint statement: compulsory drug detention and rehabilitation centres (2012). Available from www.unaids.org/en/media/unaids/contentassets/documents/ document/2012/JC2310_Joint%20Statement 6March12FINAL_en.pdf.
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