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Prisoner rights to tackle HIV infection

    JOHANNESBURG

    A Zimbabwean prisoners' rights group has blamed the rise in HIV/AIDS prevalence rates among prisoners on the lack of conjugal visits, the local Daily News reported on Thursday.

    The Zimbabwe Association for Crime Prevention and Rehabilitation of Offenders (ZACRO) this week urged the government to broaden its "open prison system".

    The system, which allows prisoners to visit their partners outside of prison premises, is alleged to be currently practised at only one prison, situated in the central district of Gweru.

    ZACRO director Lovemore Mangilazi Phiri said apart from reducing prevalence rates, the government could save resources by releasing prisoners over the weekend.

    The Zimbabwe Prisons Service has refused to distribute condoms in correctional facilites on the grounds that "it promotes homosexuality".

    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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