Homophobia, Stigma and HIV in Jamaican Prisons

From Culture, Health and Sexuality, by Andrinopoulos, Figueroa, Derrigan and Ellen

From the Abstract:

Success in addressing HIV and AIDS among men who have sex with men, a key population in the global epidemic, is impeded by homophobia. Homophobia as a barrier to HIV prevention and AIDS treatment is a particularly acute problem in the prison setting. In this qualitative study, we explore HIV and AIDS, stigma and homosexuality in the largest all male prison in Jamaica by conducting iterative in-depth interviews with 25 inmates. Participant narratives unveil a purposeful manipulation of beliefs related to homosexuality that impedes an effective response to HIV and AIDS both in prison and wider society. Findings indicate that homophobia is both a social construction and a tangible tool used to leverage power and a sense of solidarity in a larger political and economic landscape. This use of homophobia may not be unique to Jamaica and is an important issue to address in other low- and middle-income post-colonialist societies.

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[If an item is not written by an IRMA member, it should not be construed that IRMA has taken a position on the article's content, whether in support or in opposition.]

Prisoners To Get Condoms in Zimbabwe?

From NewsDay, by Owen Gagare

Inmates in Zimbabwe's filthy prisons could soon be receiving condoms while in incarceration to prevent the spread of HIV, NewsDay has established. According to proposals by the Ministry of Health and Child Welfare and World Health Organisation (WHO), prisoners could soon benefit from initiatives to curb the spread of the deadly scourge.

The director of the Aids and TB programme, Owen Mugurungi, told journalists attending a workshop whose theme was "Understanding multiple concurrent partnerships and male circumcision" in Kadoma that his ministry was working with the Justice ministry to address health challenges in the country's prisons. He said there had been realisation that there was rampant homosexuality in the penitentaries and upon release the likelihood to affect spouses and girlfriends was high.

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L.A. County sheriff considers expanding condom distribution in jail

via Los Angeles Times, by Ari B. Bloomekatz

Inmates call Ron Osorio "West Hollywood" because the words are printed on the cream-colored cloth bag he carries inside Men's Central Jail each Friday.

The bag is filled with 300 Lifestyle condoms. Osorio, who works for the nonprofit Center for Health Justice, has been visiting the jail almost weekly since 2001, when Los Angeles County Sheriff Lee Baca approved a small but groundbreaking program that allowed the health group to pass out prophylactics to inmates in a segregated unit for gay men.

"We go to the dorms and a guy hands out the bagged lunches. There's another guy that hands out the juice. . . . and I stand between those two as they go through the line. They get their lunch, they get a condom, and they get their juice," Osorio said.

Not all inmates take condoms, but Osorio talks to those who do about the risks of HIV/AIDS.

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Uganda: Prisons Chief - Sodomy is My Biggest Headache

[a truly frightening, hateful article]

The Uganda Prisons chief is warning that homosexual behaviour, an indigenously vile and illicit act, is growing among prisoners, heightening the risk of faster HIV/Aids spread at confinement facilities countrywide.

In an exclusive interview on Thursday, Dr Johnson Byabashaija, the commissioner general of Uganda Prisons, attributed the upsurge in the vice to sexual starvation among inmates and general moral rot on Uganda’s streets.

“People who come to prison come from the local communities,” he said. “If there are homosexuals in society, there will definitely be homosexuals in the prisons.”

And he added: “Cases of homosexuality, especially sodomy in “prisons are of two types; sodomy by consent and that by coercion. Sodomy by coercion, I think, is almost non-existent but the one by consent, I know, is definitely there.”

The catch-22 for authorities though, is how to employ known scientific preventive methods, including condom use, to scale down the worrying trend of sexual infections without violating any law or attracting government denunciation. They are doing the talking but the awareness campaign needs to be matched with tangible action for optimum results.

Giving out condoms to prisoners the way it is distributed to free men, said Dr Byabashaija, and could imply the discreet approval of homosexuality by Uganda Prison services.

Read the rest on Sunday Monitor.