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HIV, prisoners, and human rights.

Publication ,  Journal Article
Rubenstein, LS; Amon, JJ; McLemore, M; Eba, P; Dolan, K; Lines, R; Beyrer, C
Published in: Lancet
September 17, 2016

Worldwide, a disproportionate burden of HIV, tuberculosis, and hepatitis is present among current and former prisoners. This problem results from laws, policies, and policing practices that unjustly and discriminatorily detain individuals and fail to ensure continuity of prevention, care, and treatment upon detention, throughout imprisonment, and upon release. These government actions, and the failure to ensure humane prison conditions, constitute violations of human rights to be free of discrimination and cruel and inhuman treatment, to due process of law, and to health. Although interventions to prevent and treat HIV, tuberculosis, hepatitis, and drug dependence have proven successful in prisons and are required by international law, they commonly are not available. Prison health services are often not governed by ministries responsible for national public health programmes, and prison officials are often unwilling to implement effective prevention measures such as needle exchange, condom distribution, and opioid substitution therapy in custodial settings, often based on mistaken ideas about their incompatibility with prison security. In nearly all countries, prisoners face stigma and social marginalisation upon release and frequently are unable to access health and social support services. Reforms in criminal law, policing practices, and justice systems to reduce imprisonment, reforms in the organisation and management of prisons and their health services, and greater investment of resources are needed.

Duke Scholars

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Published In

Lancet

DOI

EISSN

1474-547X

Publication Date

September 17, 2016

Volume

388

Issue

10050

Start / End Page

1202 / 1214

Location

England

Related Subject Headings

  • Tuberculosis
  • Substance-Related Disorders
  • Social Stigma
  • Public Health
  • Prisons
  • Prisoners
  • Opiate Substitution Treatment
  • Humans
  • Human Rights Abuses
  • Human Rights
 

Citation

APA
Chicago
ICMJE
MLA
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Rubenstein, L. S., Amon, J. J., McLemore, M., Eba, P., Dolan, K., Lines, R., & Beyrer, C. (2016). HIV, prisoners, and human rights. Lancet, 388(10050), 1202–1214. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(16)30663-8
Rubenstein, Leonard S., Joseph J. Amon, Megan McLemore, Patrick Eba, Kate Dolan, Rick Lines, and Chris Beyrer. “HIV, prisoners, and human rights.Lancet 388, no. 10050 (September 17, 2016): 1202–14. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(16)30663-8.
Rubenstein LS, Amon JJ, McLemore M, Eba P, Dolan K, Lines R, et al. HIV, prisoners, and human rights. Lancet. 2016 Sep 17;388(10050):1202–14.
Rubenstein, Leonard S., et al. “HIV, prisoners, and human rights.Lancet, vol. 388, no. 10050, Sept. 2016, pp. 1202–14. Pubmed, doi:10.1016/S0140-6736(16)30663-8.
Rubenstein LS, Amon JJ, McLemore M, Eba P, Dolan K, Lines R, Beyrer C. HIV, prisoners, and human rights. Lancet. 2016 Sep 17;388(10050):1202–1214.
Journal cover image

Published In

Lancet

DOI

EISSN

1474-547X

Publication Date

September 17, 2016

Volume

388

Issue

10050

Start / End Page

1202 / 1214

Location

England

Related Subject Headings

  • Tuberculosis
  • Substance-Related Disorders
  • Social Stigma
  • Public Health
  • Prisons
  • Prisoners
  • Opiate Substitution Treatment
  • Humans
  • Human Rights Abuses
  • Human Rights