NCJ Number
176836
Date Published
1998
Length
6 pages
Annotation
This document reports on a survey of HIV/AIDS risk behavior among adult males in 13 prisons in England and Wales.
Abstract
The survey looked at behavior associated with drug injecting, sexual practices and tattooing. It also examined the life histories of those concerned, the impact on them of imprisonment and their intentions for the future. The male prison population had experienced much higher levels of drug use and injecting behavior than the general population. In the main, the more "criminal" the offender, the greater the extent of his previous and current HIV/AIDS behavior. The bulk of HIV/AIDS risk behaviors ceased on coming into prison, although the residual behavior tended to be more risky. Male prisoners came from a more sexually active section of the population, were more likely to have engaged in different types of sexual activities, to have used prostitutes and to have had sexual relations with women who were themselves at increased risk of HIV. There was no evidence that imprisonment led to increased same-sex activity. Of 21 men in the sample who reported having had sexual contact with a man in prison, 19 had previously had sexual experience with a man outside prison. Figure, tables, reference