Inmates' Voices
Unfortunately, only a small number of inmates were able to attend the First National HIV/AIDS and Prisons Workshop. Michael Linhart, a prisoner living with HIV in a federal institution in British Columbia, was one of the few who could participate. He prepared a video presentation that was screened at the opening plenary. We reprint this presentation in slightly edited form. It is evidence of how important inmates' participation is: inmates are, without doubt, the real experts who know better than any other person what goes on in prisons.
HIV/AIDS in Prisons: A Prisoner's View
Four years ago, when I first became involved with HIV/AIDS issues, there was little more than a Commissioners' Directive on the Management of Inmates with HIV/AIDS[1] and PASAN's recommendations.[2]
Shortly afterward, the Expert Committee on AIDS and Prisons was formed. The Committee produced a report that, in my opinion, contains good, solid, and well-founded recommendations on how to address the problem of HIV/AIDS in prisons.[3] With PASAN's recommendations and ECAP's report, the Commissioner of the Correctional Service of Canada (CSC) has at his disposal all the recommendations necessary to implement an effective plan to reduce the spread of HIV/AIDS within prisons and to those who will be in contact with prisoners during or following their release.
Unfortunately, there is currently a great deal of apathy on the part of both Correctional Service officials and inmates. No recommendations, however well thought-out and realistic, will be effective against apathetic minds. If there is any hope in reducing the spread of HIV/AIDS in our prisons, a way needs to be found to motivate both CSC employees and inmates to work together to fight HIV.
To be fair, not all inmates and staff are apathetic: there are many inmates and more than a few staff who are concerned and are advocating for necessary change. However, they often feel frustrated about the attitude of the many around them who do not seem to care. We need to find a way to make it clear to everyone – the administration, staff, prisoners, and the public – that more needs to be done to prevent the spread of HIV and to care for those already infected, and that doing more is in everyone's interest, not only that of prisoners.
Perhaps of greatest concern to me lately has been that CSC has accepted many of ECAP's recommendations and publicly states that condoms are available in institutions, that bleach is made available in one institution officially and in others unofficially, and that confidentiality of medical information is respected. The untold truth, however, is altogether different: for example, in many institutions condoms are available only occasionally, and no water-based-lubricant is available. With regard to the issue of confidentiality, there is much I could say; frankly, I have grown tired of repeating how the importance of keeping medical information confidential does not seem to be understood, and how often and in how many ways confidentiality is not respected.
It frustrates me greatly that only those of ECAP's recommendations were accepted that are considered to be "politically correct" and would upset as few politicians and public sentiments as possible. I do not believe that the decision-makers considered the lives of those who would be most affected by their decisions, many of whom will be infected as a result of the refusal to accept the other recommendations.
If there is to be any hope of reducing the spread of HIV in prisons, it will be necessary to reconsider the decisions made. As a recovering addict, it is hard for me to advocate a needle- exchange program for anyone, in particular prisoners. However, when I consider the amount of needle sharing that I have witnessed over the years spent in prison, and how many new infections they may have caused, I find myself more concerned with the human lives than the "correctness" of providing needles to prisoners. Perhaps the following will help illustrate my concern.
Recently, I became aware that an HIV-positive inmate was sharing needles with other inmates. The inmates sharing with him did not know he was infected. Bleach was sometimes used; some inmates, however, were not using bleach because they just did not think about it or because of the amount of time it takes and the increased risk of being caught injecting. The HIV-positive inmate did not want to tell the other inmates about his positive serostatus, because then he would not have had any way of injecting his drugs, the number of needles available being so limited as to force inmates to share.
It is very easy for politicians with no first-hand knowledge of the prison environment to decide the kind of treatment that should be given to prisoners. All too often, they will fail to consider that prisoners will, in most cases, be released. For those individuals who are irresponsible enough to share needles without bleaching, can it be reasonable to expect that they will use a condom when they have their first post-release sexual experience? I strongly doubt that they will! Prisoners who contract HIV in prison will in all likelihood transmit it to others upon release. If those with the power to implement needle exchanges, methadone programs and other means of providing risk-reducing initiatives, are not prepared to consider the prisoners in their charge, then perhaps they could consider those at risk of contracting HIV/AIDS from prisoners.
There are no magic answers to any of the issues I have raised, but there is one thing I am certain of: as we move toward the next century, prison administrators, staff, and prisoners will have to put aside old differences and work together to aggressively fight against the spread of HIV. Community-based organizations will also have to get more involved, work with us, continue to monitor the efforts undertaken, and provide support and assistance. Unless everyone concerned begins to work together for the common good, all the reports, studies, and initiatives will prove to be no more effective than they have been to date. As a person living with HIV, and greatly concerned with the effects it has on prisoners and their families, it is my most fervent hope that we will overcome divergencies in opinion, understand that we work for our mutual benefit, and are able to work together.
- Michael Linhart
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ENDNOTES
[1]Commissioner's Directive 821.
[2]HIV/AIDS in Prison Systems: A Comprehensive Strategy. Toronto: The Network, 1992.
[3]Correctional Service Canada. HIV/AIDS in Prisons: Final Report of the Expert Committee on AIDS and Prisons. Ottawa: Minister of Supply and Services Canada, 1994.