HIV In Prisons-MYTHS-Tattooing

April 26, 2006—A new study tracking HIV through the Georgia prison system is busting some myths about life behind bars and raising questions about why condoms are still so much harder for inmates to get their hands on than junk food, cigarettes and dirty tattoo needles.

The Georgia Department of Corrections and the federal Centers for Disease Control (CDC) questioned 68 Georgia prisoners who had gotten HIV while behind bars between 1988 and 2003 along with 68 serving sentences during the same 15 years without picking up the virus. Here are some of the myths debunked:

Myth #1: Prisons are a breeding ground for HIV.
“HIV transmission is not rare in prison, but neither is it rampant,” says Madeleine LaMarre, LPN, a study coauthor who used to work as a nurse in the Georgia system and now advises prison administrators on HIV care. “We knew of 9% [of all positive Georgia prisoners] who’d acquired HIV in the Georgia system,” LaMarre said. Meaning that 91% already had it when they got there.

Myth #2: Rape is the main form of prison sex.
By a wide majority (72%), consensual sex was the number one male-to-male sexual activity reported. And the nonconsensual category included 13 men who traded sex for money, food or cigarettes, along with seven reports of rape. “People [accept the] media portrayals of prison rape,” says the CDC’s Patrick Sullivan, PhD, a study coauthor who is an epidemiologist. “When there’s no data, other information fills in the gap.”

Myth #3: Sex between prisoners and guards happens mostly in women’s prisons.
Of the 59 men who said they’d had sex in prison, 26 reported encounters with male staffers and 21 with female staffers—higher than expected numbers on both sides.

Myth #4: Prisoners are reckless, putting others at risk.
Seventy-five percent of the positive men in the study said that upon release, they would let family and sex partners know about the sex they had in prison, welcome news considering how much HIV is blamed on ex-cons. And 30% of all those who reported having consensual sex said they did use some sort of protection—usually makeshift barriers like latex gloves or plastic wrap.

Myth #5: Prison tattooing does not transmit HIV.
These may be the oddest of the report’s findings—and they’re still under investigation. Twelve positive men in the study reported prison tattooing as their only risky behavior. More interviews and some genetic testing will say for sure. In the past, however, only the hardier hepatitis B and C viruses were known to be transmitted through tattooing with shared needles and dirty equipment.

What solutions do these findings suggest for the state of Georgia and the CDC? Prison advocates and public officials interviewed by POZ say it all points directly to more condoms and HIV education. Take the overestimation of rape, for instance: While rapists don’t often use condoms, consensual sex partners might—if they were available. And if staff are having so much more sex with prisoners than we thought, says Sullivan, “When Georgia looks at educational efforts, they need to recognize the prevention needs of staff too.”

Since 1994, the CDC has officially backed condom distribution in prisons along with education and testing. But fewer than 1% of correctional facilities in the U.S. currently offer condoms.

One proposal on the table recently in Georgia involves “clustering” positive prisoners in separate facilities. Sullivan says, “There are no data about the effectiveness of separate housing as a prevention strategy,” while Robert Cohen, MD, who monitors prison HIV care for the federal courts, suggests that segregation raises more problems than it solves. The bottom line, he says, is that “HIV is transmitted among prisoners just as it is among anyone else—and it can be prevented the same way too.”

Myths and Realities

There are many myths and negative stereotypes about criminalized women or women who come in contact with the criminal justice system. These myths and stereotypes need to be challenged and broken-down. By doing this work, we can understand the nature and extent of women’s criminal acts. We can also begin to understand the context of women’s criminality – that is, the things about women’s lives and about society that contribute to women committing crimes and to women’s acts being understood as crimes. Part of this work requires us to look at the ways that race, class and other identities are treated by society and by the justice system.  

“The legal system [can] reinforce sexist, racist, and, classist stereotypes of women while simultaneously legitimizing patriarchal notions of the need to socially control women. We must all commit to transforming the social and economic position of girls and women and adamantly challenge attempts to further subjugate women if we are truly interested in addressing violence in our communities.”1   

Sexism, racism and classism work together to restrict women’s choices and to control women. To understand the lives of criminalized women, we must understand the role that sexism, racism, classism and other forms of discrimination play in their lives.  

This article looks at some of the big myths about criminalized women and tries to take them apart.  

Myth: Women in Canada are committing more crimes and becoming more violent.

Reality: This myth is not supported by statistics. Overall crime rates have decreased dramatically in recent years. The number of reported crimes in 2004 was down by 12% and the number of incidents involving young people reported to the police was down too.  

Further, there has been no significant change in how much violent crime is committed in Canada or the patterns of violent and aggressive behaviour in Canada.2 What has changed is Canada’s response to violent and aggressive acts. Recently, everyone from the police to schools has embraced a so-called “zero-tolerance” policies. These policies have meant that the government is policing and prosecuting more forms of violence.  

While the overall number of ‘violent’ offences committed by women remains low, the number of women who are being criminalized is increasing. More women are being put in prison and more women are being criminalized. This contributes to the myth that women are becoming more violent.  

This is simply not true. The continuing cuts to social welfare and the reduction in the number and quality of program for women mean that more women are forced to struggle to survive and care for themselves and, if they have any, their children. Increasingly, it is women’s survival skills that are becoming criminalized.3  

It is important not to confuse crime rates and incidences of violence with the criminalization of women. Dictionaries define “criminalization” as turning someone into a criminal or treating someone as a criminal (Merriam-Webster online dictionary). By reducing social supports, the government is forcing women into more and more marginal existences. Most criminalized women in Canada are inside provincial jails and are being sentenced for crimes like theft, impaired driving, fraud, shoplifting, sex-work related offences, and other non-violent offences.  

Women are not becoming more violent, but they are being pushed to support themselves in ways that fall outside the law (like sex work or shoplifting). The increased number of imprisoned and criminalized women leads to the mistaken belief that women are becoming more violent. 

Myth: Every woman is equally at risk of committing a crime and is treated equally before the law.

Reality: The extent and nature of women’s ‘criminality’, the likelihood that particular women will be imprisoned, and how particular women are treated while incarcerated depends on women’s social location. Women of different races and classes and sexual orientations and abilities have different experiences. Gender and sex work with race, class and other social locations or identities to impact how a woman experiences the world.  

Many women are more at risk of coming in contact with the law and are not always treated as equals before the law. In particular, Aboriginal women (including First Nations, Metis, and Inuit women); racialized women; young women, in particular single mothers; women living in poverty; women who have experienced violence; women with mental health issues; and women with addictions are more likely to be criminalized. 

Myth: Women who are provincially imprisoned have it better than women who are federally imprisoned.

Reality: Every woman who goes to jail is impacted. Most women experience some form of stigma. All women who go to jail are separated for a time from everything that is familiar to them.  

Some women are impacted in more serious ways than others. According to the Ministry of Community Safety and Correctional Services, 87.5% of provincially-imprisoned women in 2006-2007 received a sentence of 3 months or less and the average sentence for provincially-sentenced women was less than 2 months.  

These are short sentences compared to what women who are sent to federal institutions receive. But shorter is not always better – or easier. Whether a woman is sent to a federal institution or a provincial institution her life is disrupted. She may lose her job or her home. Her children may be apprehended by Children’s Aid or she may lose custody to a family member or other parent.4 Women may be ostracized by their communities when they return to them, and as a result, they may lose the support of their communities.  

Whether or not women are in a federal or provincial institution, their health may suffer. In the words of one woman reflecting on the experiences of women with HIV/AIDS who are placed in custody or incarcerated: “Continuity of care for women living with HIV/AIDS while in custody or incarcerated is a real concern as it really impacts their lives...For these women HIV/AIDS medication is provided (obligated to do so by law) but there is no consistency and this can be very damaging to the women. Sometimes doctors will provide only the medication they have available and not the medication that has been prescribed to the woman. Changing medication if you have HIV is a slow process which has to be done a certain way otherwise your body will reject the medication....There is a lack of understanding on the part of the legal system and other authorities as to how the process of criminalization has many impacts on the lives of women.” 

Myth: Women have access to adequate programs and supports while provincially incarcerated.

Reality: Because women are only a small minority of the population of imprisoned people in Canada, they do not receive the same amount of funding for programs within federal and, in particular, provincial institutions. As a result, women have limited access to programs and supportive services.   

The lack of supports for women who are in conflict with the law influences how provincial institutions (jails and detention centres) are used. A recent study on federally sentenced women across Canada conducted from 2004-2006 found that provincial jails are used as “holding cells” because there are few supports for women who are incarcerated there.  

As a result, some women request increased jail time so that they are sent to federal prisons where they will have access to more programs and supports. This means that women remain imprisoned longer than necessary.  

Myth: Women do not face any risks when reporting violence to the police or other authority figures

Reality: The decision to report violence to the police, criminal justice and social services depends on many factors. The statistics show that violence against women is under-reported because women do not feel safe enough to report violence. 

According to Statistics Canada (2006) the majority of victims of spousal assault and over 90% of sexual assault victims did not seek support from the criminal justice system.5 

A 2008 study documenting women’s experiences with the Toronto Police Services in domestic violence cases found that the most common reason why women did not want to call the police in Toronto was due to a fear of retaliation by the abuser, family or the community. Other reasons women did not want to report violence were that women did not believe that the incident was "serious". Some women feared that their partner would be arrested or deported. Some women faced language barriers. 

Women who felt that the police had minimized the abuse they experienced said they would be less willing to involve the police again. Women who were charged by police in domestic violence situations they said that they would not likely call the police in the future.  

In the words of one Aboriginal woman recounting her experiences with police officers:

“Overall, I have had bad experience with police...been lied to by police, police have conducted unauthorized searches...” 

Another woman describes her experience with the police: “I was arrested protesting...I was beaten up by the police and I suffered physical and psychological trauma...” 

While the needs of some women are met when they report violence to the police or authority figures, not all women have this experience. For the most marginalized women in Ontario, reporting violence to authority figures can put them in even more compromising situations. Some women are charged under “dual charging.” Women who do not have status in Canada may be reported to immigration. Some women will become involved with child protection authorities and may have their children apprehended.

When you are in Jail, Can you get in trouble for Hurting Someone in a Fight?

The issue of ‘stand your ground’ laws has come to the forefront in light of the Zimmerman/Trayvon Martin incident in Sanford, Florida. But what about if it happens in jail? When you get in a fight in jail, can you get in trouble… especially if the ‘other guy’ gets hurt and he was the one that started it?
The answer is both YES and NO.
Jails and prisons are filled with violent people. Fights and violence are a way of life for many of them. In addition, many of them have to make others believe they are tough and not afraid in order to avoid fights… in other words, peace through strength.
A large percentage of inmates have gang affiliations, owe or want to collect on drug, tobacco or gambling debts, many are going through withdrawl from drugs or alcohol addictions, most are dealing with personal or family issues they no longer have control over.
Therefore, fighting is common. Fights are violent and quick; they end within seconds of beginning because it’s impossible to hide them from authorities as ‘eyes’ are everywhere. Any noises or scuffles out of the ordinary can be heard and are immediately responded to. So when there’s a fight, it ends as soon as it begins and in most cases, both inmates are immediately thrown into segregation, it is investigated and the incident is over.
Even when one inmate gets seriously hurt, with no witnesses, who is to blame? And even if there is a guilty party, is anything done about it? Rarely.
So, if you think you are going to get into a fight or are about to be attacked when in jail, do as much damage to your opponent as you can in the 10-60 seconds you have, because your opponent is the last person you will be seeing for a while. And when you do get out of the SHU, your actions before and during the brief fight will determine how much respect others will give you from that point forward.
Jail and Prison is no different than life on the outside. The respect people treat you with mirrors the respect you deserve. It’s just that in jail or prison, you don’t have a lot of time to nurture that. Things move quickly.

Criminal Courts – What Would Happen if Everyone Arrested Demanded a Trial of their Peers?

Statistics vary, but throughout America, it is believed that between eighty and ninety percent of people arrested choose a plea agreement with prosecutors rather than take their case to trial. Why is this, and what would happen if everyone exercised their constitutional right to a speedy trial by a jury of their peers?
An Inmate’s Fear
When a person is arrested for a crime they enter a zone of fear that has no equal. They risk losing their job, their reputation, their children and most important at that moment, their freedom. They are locked in a jail cell with people they don’t know or feel comfortable around, the food is terrible, they have no privacy and they have lost control of all their personal belongings.
The things they take for granted; the internet, cell phones, privacy when going to the bathroom, our television, our car… all of that disappears in jail. The fear of potential jail or prison time, getting in a fight and getting hurt, and being shunned by their families and friends will motivate them to take extraordinary measures.
Doing time in jail is so frightening to most people, they will do anything to avoid it. Therefore, when their court-appointed public defender approaches them with a ‘plea’, they reach out and grab it, taking the first offer thrown at them in order to escape their hell. But could they get a better deal from the prosecutor? And what would happen if they demanded a trial?

Fast and Speedy Trials
The Sixth Amendment of the Constitution of the United States gives everyone the right to a Fast and Speedy Trial by an ‘impartial’ jury.  This means that a defendant has the right to a trial within a reasonable period of time that must be decided by a jury of their peers. Some states actually put a number on the definition of speedy.. and 90 days is the norm most places.
In general, the more serious the crime, the more time the prosecution is allowed to prepare their case. Prosecutors are willing to agree to plea agreements for lesser crimes (cases they consider a distraction, but that boost their conviction percentage) so they can focus on their more serious cases, cases that help their public image and careers.
However, these small cases, the vast majority (80-90%) of cases they prosecute, are for minor and insignificant crimes. And these are the ones that never make it to trial as the defendants are willing to ‘take a plea’ giving them short jail terms and probation rather than risk a greater punishment and the embarrassment that a trial would bring.
Demanding a Trial
If everyone arrested demanded their right to a court appointed lawyer (which they are entitled to by the Constitution) and a Speedy Trial by a jury of their peers, rather than taking a plea deal from the prosecution, there is no possible way the court systems in local counties (or the federal system) could handle the volume. Courts are already bogged down as it is now, as arrests are at levels that are unprecedented.
So…What Would Happen if Defendants Demanded a Trial?
Since county courts are already overburdened and operating on a limited budget and a limited time frame due to the defendant’s right to a speedy trial and expensive jail costs, the prosecutors would be forced to drop charges on more than half their cases. In fact, it is very likely that they would have to drop more than 75% of the cases they now handle.
A trial, even for a minor case, can take up to a full day at an absolute minimum. Even before the trial, interviewing and picking a jury from a pool can be another day of work. Then the jury has to be sequestered to decide on guilt, and in many cases, another day to decide a punishment.
Therefore, let’s just assume that a jury trial for each person arrested took 2-3 days. With some counties arresting hundreds of people every day, and a prosecutor’s office with a limited number of lawyers, you can see how quickly the system could get bogged down, both time-wise and financially.
The problem with this theory is that every inmate incarcerated or with a case pending would have to work together to bring the system to a halt, and the likelihood of that happening is unlikely.

Jail and Prison Myths and Truths – What Really Goes On in Jails?

For many people the idea of being in jail or prison is a frightening one. Being locked in a building, surrounded by armed guards and layers of razor wire can be daunting. But is it as bad as television, movies and the media want us to believe?  The answer is both yes and no.

MYTH or TRUTH
1. I could be killed in Jail.
True.
However, let’s look at the numbers. An eight-year study that reviewed all inmate deaths between the years 2000-2007, found that out of a total of 8,097 deaths, less than 2% (171) were homicides.
Given that approximately 15 million inmates were arrested and booked into jails each year, over an eight year period, the chance of being killed while in jail was 1/100,000 of one percent, or stated another way, a one-in-10-million chance.
On another note:
30% of all deaths in Jails were due to suicide.
53% of all deaths were due to Illnesses, including AIDS.
10% of all deaths were due to accidents or intoxication.
There was a 25% higher chance of being murdered in a prison than in a jail, however the chance of this happening at all was surprisingly remote,
2. I could get beat up in Jail.
True.
Jails and prisons are notorious for fights. As long as that is understood, fights can usually be avoided by trying to keep calm and showing respect towards the other inmates. However, as in life on the outside, sometimes fights cannot be avoided. In jail, it is rare that a fight lasts for more than 20-30 seconds. With guards and closed-circuit cameras everywhere and the unmistakable ‘silence’ that overtakes a ‘yard’, a dining area or any unit where a fight breaks out, not to mention the attention of every surrounding inmate, fights are ended by the authorities as soon as they begin. Even if a person can’t defend himself that well, if he hangs on, the police will come to end the disturbance immediately.
3. Jails are filthy and ridden with disease.
False and True.
Most jails and prisons are like hospitals. Because of the high concentration of people occupying them, the chance for disease to spread quickly, and the fear of lawsuits, a lot of attention is focused on keeping the facility clean. Everyone has a stake in keeping it clean, from the staff to the inmates, as no one wants to get sick. In addition, since inmates do all the work and any job is coveted as it means time out their cell, they will do whatever it takes to do an excellent job because there are plenty of people waiting in line for their job and they don’t want to lose it.
Most jails issue fresh clothing twice a week for men and more often for women. The clothing is cleaned in industrial washing machines, and while inmates are issued underwear that was worn by someone else prior to being washed, in general the clothing is always fresh and clean. Prisons assign used clothing, however as an inmate, you are able to purchase your own undergarments from the commissary.
On the other hand, there are issues with MRSA (staph infections), just as there are in health clubs and hospitals worldwide these days. Lice can also be a problem, primarily in female units where they tend to groom more frequently and spread these insects from scalp to scalp through direct contact such as braiding each other’s hair.
OETA Story on Jail Food in Muskogee County, Oklahoma
Jail Food Video
4. The food is terrible and unhealthy.
True and False.
Most jails and prisons buy their food from food brokers who sell lots of frozen and canned goods that are close to their expiration dates. Further, the boxes of frozen food are usually stamped with a label that clearly states ‘For institutional use only’, which is code for jails and prisons. It is never used for restaurants or any other use. Many inmate kitchen workers report cooking with food that comes in boxes stamped ‘not for human consumption’, a code for animal/pet food use. The food generally tastes as bad it looks.
Spices are rarely used so the food is bland. In place of meat, many meals are laced with a grainy mixture of corn meal that adds texture and fill, but has no flavor.
On the positive side, many jails and prisons now operate small farms where they use inmate labor to grow their own fresh vegetables and fruits. While it may not be organically grown, it is fresh and more healthy than the canned vegetable ‘throw away’ lots that are the only other option, and there is satisfaction in growing it.
Federal law mandates that inmates receive at least two hot meals a day, with a combined total of 2,000 calories. You won’t starve in jail, but given that accused terrorists being held at Guantanamo Bay receive a diet of 3,400 calories a day, it cannot be argued that our government thinks more highly of its American prisoners.