People in prison suffer at least 10 to 20 times higher rates of HIV and hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection than the population as a whole, even higher for people who inject drugs, a human rights group said last Tuesday.

A report by the group, the Canadian HIV/AIDS Legal Network, said the sharing of used needles is a principal factor in the higher rates of infection. “Because of the scarcity of needles and syringes in prison, people who inject drugs in prison are more likely to share injecting equipment than people in the community,” said the report authours. “This significantly increases their risk of contracting HIV and HCV.”

Seeking to influence government policies towards prison-based needle and syringe programs (PNSPs), the report cited numerous evaluations of successful needle and syringe programs (NSPs) in Canada that reduce the risk of infection.

Yet no Canadian prison allows clean needles to be distributed.

“This harms the health of people in prison, given the increasing prevalence of HIV and HCV behind bars,” said the report. “This also creates a further risk to public health more broadly: the vast majority of people who spend time in prison return to their families and communities.”

Between 2008 and 2009, the Canadian HIV/AIDS Legal Network interviewed 50 individuals who were currently incarcerated or had spent time in a federal prison to learn more about their experience with injection drug use.

As an example, Under the Skin: A People’s Case for Prison Needle and Syringe Programs detailed the story of Thomas Charles Black, a 50-year-old who did time at Stony Mountain Institution near Winnipeg, Manitoba. He described being given little bottles of bleach and clean water, as well as condoms, with instruction manuals on how to clean a needle.

“But there was never enough supply,” he said. “People were scared to ask for more bleach from the health department because it would single them out as drug users.”

John Bonnar

John Bonnar is an independent journalist producing print, photo, video and audio stories about social justice issues in and around Toronto.