AUSTRALIA: Prisoners May Get Access to Condoms for First Time

Important note: Information in this article was accurate in 2007. The state of the art may have changed since the publication date.

AUSTRALIA: Prisoners May Get Access to Condoms for First Time

Australian Associated Press (12.14.07) - Friday, December 14, 2007

In Victoria, where a 2002 study found 55 percent of male prisoners were infected with hepatitis C virus, the government is considering ending its eight-year ban on condoms in correctional institutions. "There are a number of practical and security issues that would need to be resolved before condoms could be introduced into the prisons," said Alex Twomey, spokesperson for Corrections Minister Bob Cameron, in confirming the government is exploring the matter. A working group comprising representatives of Corrections Victoria and the Human Services Department is studying the spread of communicable disease in prisons, he said, and the government "will consider any recommendations." Issues under consideration include whether prisoners would have to pay for condoms and how condoms would be distributed. A plan to distribute condoms from vending machines in New South Wales prisons failed after guards refused to stock them.
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