‘Provision of condoms must be maximised’
Offenders at the Department of Correctional Services (DCS) Medium A Section have proposed that government maximise the provision of condoms behind bars, since same-sex relationships are allowed.
BARBERTON – They raised these views during a visit by the Mpumalanga Department of Social Development (DSD) in partnership with Nhlengelo Home-Based Care last Tuesday.
The visit afforded the offenders an opportunity to learn about HIV/Aids and how the disease can be managed.
According to Nana Mawela, manager of Nhlengelo Home-Based Care, a non-profit organisation based in Bushbuckridge, the visit was meant to create awareness on how offenders can reduce the spread of HIV/ Aids.
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Mawela indicated that the point of departure in fighting the scourge is that offenders must know their status.
Knowing your status will help you to know how to live your life. If you test positive, you get treatment and if you are negative you continue having safe sex. So if you don’t know your status, you put your life and the lives of your loved ones at risk” she said.
Their services includes management of HIV/Aids, prevention and education.
During the session, the offenders were divided into groups where they were given topics to discuss and present to fellow offenders and delegates how some of the challenges can be addressed.
The eradication of HIV/Aids behind bars, the importance of circumcision versus culture and gender-based violence were among the topics addressed.
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Offenders proposed that government maximise the provision of condoms to prisons.
They further proposed that awareness about HIV/Aids be reinforced to ensure that they understand how one gets infected and the impact of HIV.
They also proposed the establishment of peer educators in all correctional centres, where offenders can teach one another about the disease.
It was proposed that the DCS encourage offenders living with HIV/Aids to be ambassadors who will educate other inmates.
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Isaac Sambo, one of the inmates, said they were pleased to see the DSD breaking the boundaries and reaching out to them.
“Today we got the truth that we never heard before. We commit ourselves that from today we will spread the message of fighting the spread of HIV/Aids and genderbased violence. We will continue doing this even after serving our sentences,” Sambo said.
