A prison in Shanghai’s Qingpu District has taken some drastic measures to halt the spread of HIV/AIDS inside its institution.
On Monday, authorities decided to start housing prisoners with
HIV/AIDS in a separate ward in the wake of a growing number of inmates
contracting the virus, the Global Times reports. The new ward is capable of housing up to 220 prisoners suffering from HIV/AIDS.
Inside the ward, 10 officials have been assigned to attend to
patients’ medical needs. Additionally, preventative measures have been
taken to ensure inmate’s safety, such as swapping any furniture made
from metal to plastic, in order to prevent prisoners from accidentally
scratching themselves, reports Sixth Tone. The ward is also monitored 24/7 by security cameras in order to prevent any sexual activity that could transmit the disease.
In China, there has been an ongoing debate over whether separately
housing inmates with HIV/AIDS perpetuates discrimination or whether it
is a necessary measure.
Liu Tongjiang, the prison spokesman, told Sixth Tone that officials
feel strongly that the change will be beneficial to inmates and help
them receive better medical treatment. “[The new ward] will let
criminals feel cared for and respected,” he added.
Although patients are receiving special attention for their medical
needs, studies have shown that such segregation can in fact have adverse
effects on patients and lead to discriminatory behavior. Back in 2007,
the World Health Organization (WHO) called the segregation of
HIV-positive prisoners “counterproductive.” China’s only school just for kids with HIV/AIDS, located in Linfen, Shanxi province, has faced similar criticism in the past.
The spread of HIV is increasingly becoming an issue in China’s
prisons. Shanghai New Criminal’s Prison alone has housed 400
HIV-positive prisoners since 2005, reports Shanghai Daily.
During that time, the prisoners have been living among the rest of the
inmate population, but a growing number of HIV infections has prompted
the prison to take action.
Of course, HIV/AIDS isn’t just a growing problem in Chinese prisons. A government study last year found that 575,000 people in China are currently living with HIV or AIDS.
A rising and alarming percentage of that number is urban youth with
most of the new cases involving men having sex with other men. Before
2009, most HIV infections in China were not transmitted by sex, but
rather through drug use, blood transfusions and a mysterious “unknown”
factor that got as high as 17.5%. In fact, from 1985 to 2005, around 30%
of China’s HIV infections were caused by the country’s shady blood
trade.
But China has done an admirable job cracking down on the illegal blood trade and drug use. This year, China has even begun offering free antiviral therapy for all of its citizens living with HIV/AIDS.