For a genuine policy to reduce risk in prison! For a genuine policy to reduce risk in prison!

The harm reduction policy that has been running in the outside world since the 80’s (free, effective access to sterile equipment, broad access to substitution treatments, access to care) has proved its worth, not only in preventing the transmission of AIDS and hepatitis, but also in the field of drug use and its social consequences (drop in overdoses, falling delinquency rates, better access to care and detoxification).

Drug users account for 30 % of the prison population. The prevalence of HIV/AIDS is four to six times higher in prison than in the outside world, and that of hepatitis C ten times higher. However, access to harm reduction equipment is still prohibited in prison. No syringe exchange programme (SEP), which could help to avoid contamination by the AIDS and hepatitis viruses, has been put in place in French prisons. The SEPs tried in prisons in Germany, Spain, Luxembourg and Switzerland have not led to any increases in drug addiction, nor have they caused any security incidents linked to the possession of syringes. There are plans to introduce SEPs in prisons in Scotland and Portugal.

In France, though access to substitution treatments in prisons has improved overall, the situation is still very uneven between the prisons. Drug users in prison are still not offered the full range of substitution treatments available in the outside world.

By refusing to tackle drug use as a public health issue, France has fallen well behind its European neighbours.


Demands:

  • Implementation of syringe exchange programmes in prisons.
  • Greater consistency in the prescription of substitution treatments in prison.