How Stigma Undercuts Prison Efforts to Fight HIV
Author: Margaret Moreland.
Source: Volume 18, Number 01, November/December 2016 , pp.1-2(2)
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Abstract:
Almost 15% of those living with HIV in the U.S. enter correctional facilities, presenting a unique public health opportunity to provide screening, treatment, education, and connections with post-release resources. The authors of a recent study, however, conclude that the effectiveness of such services may be undermined by the stigma attached to people living with HIV. HIV stigma exists among both inmates and corrections staff and can result in discrimination, verbal abuse, and physical assault and inhibit the provision and utilization of HIV testing, treatment, and other services. The report, “’Inside These Fences Is Our Own Little World:’ Prison-Based HIV Testing and HIV-Related Stigma Among Incarcerated Men and Women” by Kathryn E. Muessig, David L. Rosen, Claire E. Farel, Becky L. White, Eliza J. Filene, and David A. Wohl, published in 28 AIDS Education and Prevention 103, is reviewed and summarized by Margaret Moreland.Keywords: AIDs in Prison Populations
Affiliations:
1: Pace University School of Law.