- The first HIV case was detected in 1988.
- The key populations are as follows:
- People who inject drugs (PWID)
- Sex workers and their clients (Male and Female)
- Men who have Sex with Men (MSM) and transgender people
- Male Labor Migrants and their wives
- Prison Inmates
- Heterosexual transmission is dominant
- HIV prevalence among adult population in the country is below 1%
The main focus of the handbook is female prisoners1 and guidance on the components of a gender-sensitive approach to prison management, taking into account the typical background of female prisoners and their special needs as women in prison.
This handbook covers the special needs of eight groups of prisoners, which have a particularly vulnerable status in prisons. They are: Prisoners with mental health care needs; Prisoners with disabilities; Ethnic and racial minorities and indigenous peoples; Foreign national prisoners; Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) prisoners; Older prisoners; Prisoners with terminal illness and Prisoners under sentence of death.
To successfully address HIV and hepatitis where injecting drug use occurs, countries should prioritize implementing NSPs and evidence-based drug dependence treatment (specifically OST), HIV testing and counselling and access to antiretroviral therapy.
Needle and syringe programmes (NSP) provide access to sterile injecting equipment to people who inject illicit drugs to prevent the transmission of HIV and hepatitis B and C through shared injection equipment.
The checklists in this document are an important tool in ensuring greater safety and better quality medical care for women in prison, and are designed to assist a review of current policies and practices relating to women’s health in prisons.
This policy brief aims to promote the realization of gender equality and human rights in terms of an effective harm reduction response to HIV for women who inject drugs in community and prison settings. It outlines a framework to achieve that goal which focuses on improving the availability, accessibility, affordability and acceptability of women-oriented harm reduction interventions. Suggested good practice tools and guidance are also provided.
Women in prison are vulnerable to gender-based sexual violence; they may engage in risky behaviours and practices such as unsafe tattooing, injecting drug use, and, are more susceptible to self-harm.
