HIV In Indian Prisons

Parasa Tanmayee, BA LLB (Hons), Damodaram Sanjivayya National Law University

ABSTRACT

Human Immune deficiency Virus (HIV) is one of the chronic illnesses which transmits through exposure to blood of the infected person, sexual activity with the infected person and other ways in which the cells of the infected gets in contact with the person. HIV is considered to be epidemic and declared as one of the dangerous diseases around the world since it attacks the immunity system of the human being making him susceptible to other illness frequently.

Prisons are identified as one of the high-risk zones where there is rampant transmission of HIV owing to the poor living conditions, lack of health care, drug abuse and imprudent sexual activity. In this paper the high-risk behaviors engaged in prison are explained comprehensively.

Adding to that present scenario of the HIV in the Indian prisons is explained with the help of report by NACO. Legal analysis of the finding with respect to right to health of the prisoners and the legislative lacunae in the Indian prison legislations are explained. Holistic suggestions to deal with the regulation of transmission with a special emphasis on the reduction of transmission through injecting drug users (IDU) is dealt exclusively in this paper.

Keywords: HIV, High risk behavior, transmission, injecting drug users (IDU),