Sentenced to Stigma: Segregation of HIV-Positive Prisoners - AL.com

I wanted to tell my brother about my HIV status on my own, rather than himfinding out on the internet. This was very hurtful to me and I don’t believethat they should be able to disclose my HIV status without my permission. 68Until December 2009, the women housed in the HIV unit in Alabama were listed on thewebsite as living in the “Tutwiler infirmary,” a designation certain to raise questions fromfamily and friends. Alabama’s public disclosure of prisoners’ health status on its websitewas unnecessary and unjustified.Further eroding confidentiality is the requirement that HIV/AIDS unit prisoners wear visibleinsignia of that status on their person. At Limestone Correctional Facility in Alabama, maleprisoners from the HIV/AIDS dorms must wear white armbands at all times. Althoughprisoners from some of the other dorms also wear armbands, it is generally known that thecolor associated exclusively with the HIV/AIDS dorm is white. In South Carolina, maleprisoners from the HIV unit carry a blue dot on their identification badges, while thewomen’s uniforms bear the name of the HIV/AIDS dorm, “Whitney B.”Prisoners expressed deep resentment about these insignia. Ken D., a prisoner at LimestoneCorrectional Facility, told us:The thing I have the most trouble with is the armband. It’s disclosing mymedical confidentiality to the whole prisoner population without my consent.How do I want you to know my business? It’s depressing, it’s stressful, beingtreated this way. 69John S. recalled an incident in the visiting room:Someone saw the armband and said ‘that guy’s got the ninja [HIV].’ Thenyour people find out and you haven’t even told them yet. That’s not right. 70Requiring HIV-positive prisoners to wear insignia announcing their medical status is just oneof the ways that they are stigmatized and singled out for differential and often discriminatorytreatment. In South Carolina, prisoners from the HIV/AIDS unit eat separately in the dining68 Letter from Richard E. dated November 30, 2009 to Jackie Walker, HIV/AIDS Coordinator, ACLU-NPP. Since December 2009the ADOC website no longer indicates “special unit” or “infirmary” for HIV-positive prisoners.69 Human Rights Watch interview with Ken D., Limestone Correctional Facility, Harvest, Alabama, August 7, 2009.70 Human Rights Watch interview with John S.,Limestone Correctional Facility, Harvest, Alabama, August 7, 2009.Sentenced to Stigma 26