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Prison HIV prevention hindered by discriminating laws

    JOHANNESBURG

    A longstanding Namibian law condemning sex between men is hindering condom distribution and HIV prevention efforts in the country's prisons, AIDS activists have charged.

    Government officials have maintained that supplying inmates with condoms was a direct contravention of the 1977 Criminal Procedures Act, which outlaws same-sex practices.

    However, the former deputy minister of Prisons and Correctional Services, Michaela Hubscle, said condoms were vital in prisons, as instances of forced sex among inmates was rife.

    South Africa's Mail and Guardian newspaper quoted Hubscle as saying, "We are sitting on a time bomb. The prevalence rate will increase if we do not protect those who enter prison HIV-negative, as well as those who are HIV-positive from reinfection."

    This article was produced by IRIN News while it was part of the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. Please send queries on copyright or liability to the UN. For more information: https://shop.un.org/rights-permissions

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