Panel: rights of people in prison to HIV prevention, treatment and care.

This article contains summaries of the five presentations made during this panel. Ralf Jürgens provides an overview of the issue of needle exchange programs in prisons, and reviews the international experience with such programs. Sandra Ka Hon Chu advances the legal and human rights arguments for establishing needle exchanges in Canadian prisons.

Harm reduction and women in the Canadian national prison system: policy or practice?

Applying the principles of harm reduction within the context of incarcerated populations raises a number of challenges. Although some access to harm reduction strategies has been promoted in general society, a divide between what is available and what is advocated continues to exist within the prison system. This paper explores the perceptions and lived experiences of a sample of nationally incarcerated women in Canada regarding their perceptions and experiences in accessing HIV and Hepatitis C prevention, care, treatment and support.