Confronting HIV/AIDS in South African prisons.

Within the South African prison system there are major problems like overcrowding and violence. A major problem which has received little attention is HIV/AIDS. The characteristics of the prison population makes them more highly susceptible to HIV infection than other people in South Africa. This in a society with already record-high levels of HIV infection. Government policies toward, and practices within, prisons basically ignore the HIV problem in the vain hope that it will go away. It will not go away. The dimensions of the level of HIV infection in prison is unknown and unmanaged. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]