Clay C, Kleyn J, McGough J, Freeman C, Nyrop K; International Conference on AIDS.
Int Conf AIDS. 1990 Jun 20-23; 6: 321 (abstract no. Th.D.780).
Alcohol and Drug Abuse Institute, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA
OBJECTIVE: To examine how Seattle's drug paraphernalia and probation laws shape the behavior of women at risk for HIV through IV drug use and street-based sex work. Moreover, to illustrate how sex workers and people using IV drugs have emerged as foci where the conflicting strategies of public health and law enforcement collide. METHODS: Twenty-five women (ages 18-44) participated in 1.5 to 2.5 hour tape-recorded ethnographic interviews. Questions focused on the structure and organization of everyday life, significant relationships (sexual, platonic, familial), problems with police, and how HIV prevention was integrated (or not) into the social context of sexual and IV drug using behaviors. RESULTS: Carrying the tools of AIDS prevention (condoms, bleach, and clean syringes) flags illegal behaviors and escalates women's risk for police harassment and arrest. Police confiscate syringes (including those from the Health Department needle exchange). Some women report confiscation of condoms and bleach. Because all the women interviewed were recently or currently on probation, they were/are legally restricted from areas where AIDS outreach efforts are concentrated. CONCLUSION: In suppressing illicit behaviors among certain women, probation laws and enforcement tactics exacerbate the risk of HIV transmission. Enforcement strategies also work at cross purposes with community health outreach efforts. There is a need for less restrictive laws. Health departments should promote AIDS education within local police departments, as well as the judicial and penal systems. Police should be encouraged to distribute, rather than confiscate, condoms and bleach.
Publication Types:
Keywords:
- Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome
- Condoms
- Female
- HIV Infections
- HIV Seropositivity
- Health Education
- Humans
- Law Enforcement
- Organizations
- Police
- Substance-Related Disorders
- organization & administration
- transmission
Other ID:
UI: 102182389
From Meeting Abstracts