WUD in prison settings
The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) has identified and published a comprehensive package of 15 key HR interventions and services to safeguard the health and safety of all people who inject drugs in prison settings, including women and WUD, who are often abused during detention:
- Information, education and communication.
- Condom programs.
- Prevention of sexual violence.
- Drug dependence treatment, including OST.
- Needle and syringe programs.
- Prevention of transmission through medical or dental services.
- Prevention of transmission through tattooing, piercing and other forms of skin penetration.
- Post-exposure prophylaxis.
- HIV testing and counselling.
- HIV treatment, care and support.
- Prevention, diagnosis and treatment of tuberculosis.
- Prevention of mother-to-child transmission of HIV.
- Prevention and treatment of sexually transmitted infections.
- Vaccination, diagnosis and treatment of viral hepatitis.
- Protecting staff from occupational hazards.
HR service providers should advocate for the implementation of as much of this package as possible and, where possible, should coordinate directly with local prisons to provide the interventions. WUD in prisons should have equivalent access to gender-sensitive health and HIV services as their non-incarcerated counterparts in the community. WUD as well as all other prisoners are better able to reintegrate into communities when pre-release preparations start early. All services within the prison, especially prison health services, should develop individual plans for client support after release. A client-based and gender-sensitive approach is the most effective strategy to ensure continuity of care and access to health and other services after release. It is most likely to address the needs of WUD when it is developed in conjunction with each of them and identifies referral processes and mechanisms to track access to services.