NCJ Number
155696
Date Published
1995
Length
22 pages
Annotation
In response to the challenge of HIV/AIDS in the prison environment, the Council of Europe recommends that member states devise and implement AIDS prevention and education policies for both prison staff and inmates.
Abstract
The Council of Europe favors an approach to AIDS prevention based on the right of inmates to health care. This approach should be developed in close collaboration with national health authorities and should be part of wider policies for preventing communicable diseases in prison. Health education and information for prison staff and inmates should be encouraged, and systematic medical examinations should be conducted when an offender enters prison in order to detect communicable diseases, including AIDS and tuberculosis. Voluntary HIV/AIDS testing and counseling should be made available to inmates; inmates should be offered the same medical and psychosocial treatment as that given to other members of the community; and medical care, psychological support, and social services should be organized for seropositive inmates to facilitate their integration after release. Efforts should be made to educate prison staff and inmates about HIV/AIDS transmission. Further, inmates with terminal AIDS should be granted early release and given proper treatment outside the prison. Measures for preventing AIDS in correctional facilities are examined, and the importance of AIDS prevention and education programs to meet the special needs of female inmates is emphasized. Provisions of the European Prison Rules that relate to AIDS prevention in correctional facilities are noted.