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Female Prisoners, AIDS, and Peer Programs pp 1–16Cite as

Women, Prison and, HIV: An Introduction

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Part of the book series: SpringerBriefs in Psychology ((BRIEFSPSYCHOL))

Abstract

This chapter will illustrate the effects of incarceration and HIV on female offenders and discuss the history of female imprisonment. Statistics on HIV and incarceration are presented. The consequences of incarceration (absent programming) will be investigated, especially the effects of “invisible punishments.” Economic status, race, and gender are explored in relationship to incarceration and HIV infection. An introduction to the benefits of prison-based programming as a way to mitigate both crime and HIV will be examined. An overview of two HIV prison-based programs—ACE and CARE—will be given.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    Mandatory sentencing laws remove judicial discretion. In New York, the Rockefeller Drug Laws were largely responsible for the increase in female incarceration. Under the original legislation, offenders could receive 15 years to life for drug possession. Mitigating factors, such as abuse, could not be taken into account during sentencing.

  2. 2.

    A steerer is one who “steers” or directs a user to a place/person to obtain drugs. It is one of the lowest possible positions held in the drug market.

  3. 3.

    CD4 or T-cells are the coordinators of the immune system. They are responsible for instructing the B-cell to produce antibodies to certain antigens. When T-cells are destroyed by HIV, immune function is severely compromised. Those with a T-cell count below 200 or those who present with an opportunistic infection (i.e., an infection, such as hepatitis, toxoplasmosis, or cervical cancer, which takes the opportunity to enter the body when the immune system is already comprised) are diagnosed with AIDS.

  4. 4.

    All information regarding BHCF, TCF, and ACE/CARE programs is accurate for the time period when data were originally collected in 2005.

  5. 5.

    This information was correct when data was originally collected in 2005.

  6. 6.

    This number was accurate at the time data were collected. Due to dwindling AIDS funding, the program structure changed and there are fewer civilians employed.

  7. 7.

    Some of these programs were eliminated recently due to reduced funding.

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  1. Justice Studies, Berkeley College, Woodland Park, NJ, USA

    Kimberly Collica

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  1. Kimberly Collica
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Collica, K. (2013). Women, Prison and, HIV: An Introduction. In: Female Prisoners, AIDS, and Peer Programs. SpringerBriefs in Psychology. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-5110-5_1

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