A forgotten and overlooked aspect of the AIDS pandemic was how people diagnosed in prison were treated when their illness advanced: rather than receive dignified medical care, many were transported to hospitals in chains and shackles. In 1991 a male prisoner testified to being taken to hospital still chained, and in 1996 a woman on remand, ‘Jane’ — not convicted, with no previous offences — was held in the AIDS ward at St Mary’s Hospital, London, chained to a guard round the clock; so weak she could barely walk the corridor, her chain was wrapped in a jacket at night to stop it from rattling and keeping her awake.
Press coverage and photographs provoked national outrage and became a scandal for the then Conservative government, which was forced to review the policy of shackling women on hospital visits. That episode exposes how stigma, punishment and institutional inertia compounded the suffering of people with HIV in custody, consigning compassion and basic human dignity to the margins.
All articles and relevant documents from this episode are available on the:
XTRA Tea Blog AIDS: THE LOST VOICES - AIDS in Chains
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Music / Instrumental by Aries Beats 'A Sin' +WEBSITE
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Third-party media: Used under 'fair use' for the sole purpose of education, criticism and/or research relating to HIV/AIDS, featured in this podcast which has no (Zero) commercial gain. No copyright infringement intended -
