Pubdate: Tue, 20 Feb 2018
Source: Winnipeg Free Press (CN MB)
Copyright: 2018 Winnipeg Free Press
Contact: http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/opinion/send_a_letter
Website: http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/502
Author: Jim Bronskill
Page: A6

TATTOO, NEEDLE PROGRAMS IN PRISONS COULD CURB HEP C: MEMO

OTTAWA - Setting up tattoo parlours and needle-exchange programs in
penitentiaries would help reduce the spread of hepatitis C, the
federal prison service has told the Trudeau government.

A Correctional Service memo obtained under the Access to Information
Act advises Public Safety Minister Ralph Goodale to round out existing
and planned measures to fight hepatitis and HIV in prison.

Prison tattooing and needle-exchange programs for drug users have
generated intense controversy over the years, and the March 2017 memo
says detailed research should be carried out before embarking on a
syringe needle program, in particular, "to avoid unintended and
negative consequences for inmates."

In response to questions, the prison service and Goodale's office said
Monday they were exploring options "to better prevent, control and
manage infectious diseases," but did not provide details about
possible tattoo or needle programs.

The current approach to prevent and control blood-borne and sexually
transmitted infections includes screening, testing, education,
substance-abuse programs and treatment.

The prevalence of HIV among federal inmates decreased to 1.19 per cent
in 2014 from just over two per cent in 2007, according to the memo.
But it stood at six times that of the general Canadian population.

Similarly, the proportion of inmates with the hepatitis C virus fell
to 18.2 per cent in 2014 from 31.6 per cent in 2007. Yet the incidence
was still about 23 times that of the general population.

Federal prison ombudsman Ivan Zinger recently called on the
Correctional Service to bring back its safe tattooing program.

His annual report said tattooing in prison frequently involves sharing
and reusing dirty homemade equipment - linked to higher rates of
hepatitis C and HIV among inmates - and there is often no safe means
of disposing of used tattoo needles.

In 2005, the prison service began a pilot program involving tattoo
rooms in six federal institutions, but two years later, the
Conservative government of the day ended it.

The memo to Goodale says an internal evaluation of the pilot indicated
that it increased awareness about disease prevention and had the
potential to reduce exposure to health risks. In addition, neither
inmates, staff, nor volunteers reported health and safety concerns
with the program.

"In fact, the evaluation indicated that the majority of staff believed
the initiative made the institution safer for both staff and inmates."

Safer tattooing could reduce the hepatitis C virus transmission within
federal prisons by 17 per cent a year, the memo says.

The Correctional Service has tried to keep illicit drugs from entering
prisons, but acknowledges that some still make their way into
penitentiaries.

A program to provide clean drug-injection needles to prisoners could
reduce the spread of hepatitis C by 18 per cent a year, the memo says.

In the case of both safer tattooing and needle programs, it wasn't
possible to gauge the potential effect on HIV prevalence or spread
among prisoners due to the existing low HIV rates.

The Canadian HIV/AIDS Legal Network has long argued for
needle-exchange programs in Canadian prisons.

However, Correctional Service officials have raised concerns about
syringe needles being used as weapons.

The memo to Goodale recommends weighing the effect a needle program
might have for workplace safety regimes, and it suggests more research
be done on the effectiveness of such an initiative from both clinical
and cost standpoints.
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MAP posted-by: Matt