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A man is preparing to sue Victoria
for failing to protect him from hepatitis C while he was incarcerated in one of
the state’s prisons.
More than 40 percent of prisoners
have hepatitis C, and drug use continues behind bars. Philip Lynch, director of
the Human Rights Law Center, said it is only a matter of time before an inmate
prevails in a suit saying prisons and the government exposed him or her to
infectious diseases. Inmates could argue that a failure to provide clean
needles and syringes violates the state’s common-law duty of care and
obligations under the Victorian Charter of Human Rights and Responsibilities,
he said.
“These are not frivolous arguments,”
Lynch said. “We’ve been advised by leading senior barristers and law firms on
the merits of this.”
“It’s a big problem ... prisons are
basically a hot-bed for viral transmission,” said John Ryan, chief executive of
Anex, a group working on harm reduction with prominent scientists Sir Gustav
Nossal and Professor Peter Doherty.
Victorian prison officials provide
bleach for inmates to clean syringes. But Dr. Mark Stoove, head of HIV, AIDS
and STI research at the Burnet Institute, called this inadequate, noting
studies show bleach only reduces the risk of hepatitis C transmission by 65
percent.
“The provision of bleach
acknowledges drugs are entering prisons and that injecting is occurring ... so
the question is do you provide this half-measure to protect people’s health, or
do you provide the evidence-based response, which is clearly prison-based
needle and syringe programs,” said Stoove.
The Friends of AIDS Foundation is
dedicated to enhancing the quality of life for HIV positive individuals and
empowering people to make healthy choices to prevent the spread of the HIV
virus. To learn more about The Friends of AIDS Foundation, please visit: http://www.friendsofaids.org.
TOGETHER WE REMAIN STRONG!
