Sexual Health and Attitudes of Australian Prisoners

Primary Research Stream

Other

Full Project Title

Sexual Health and Attitudes of Australian Prisoners

Project Period

2005-2007

Rationale / Background

Prisoners are a high-risk group for sexual ill health. This has consequences for the wider community. Prisoners are largely drawn from the most disadvantaged and stigmatised groups in the community. Most come from low socio-economic status, low education and low income backgrounds, many suffer from minor intellectual disabilities, many have a mental illness or a history of injecting drug use and a disproportionate number are indigenous. Forty per cent of female prisoners and 24% of male prisoners in New South Wales (NSW) report that they have been diagnosed with a sexually transmitted infection (STI) at some time in the past, including gonorrhoea, genital warts, syphilis, chlamydia and herpes. Over half of the female inmates surveyed during the latest NSW Inmate Health Survey were positive for Herpes simplex virus type-2.

With prisoners excluded from all national health surveys it is important that information be collected from this group on sexual health to ensure they are not a forgotten population.

Aim and Objectives

Describe the sexual health, knowledge, attitudes and behaviour of Australian prisoners using the ASHR questionnaire.
Explore factors associated with sexual practices in gaol.
Examine the impact of condom availability on sexual behaviour in prison by comparing one state with (NSW) and one state without (QLD) a policy of distributing condoms.

Method and Study Design

Cross-sectional survey: This will involve selecting a sample of prisoners from QLD and NSW. These two states house approximately 60% of the total Australian prisoner population.

The survey will involve a face-to-face interview, administered by a research nurse reading questions from, and recording responses on, a laptop computer using a computer assisted personal interview (CAPI) system similar to that used in the ASHR. The CAPI will last between 20 and 60 minutes depending on prisoner responses. All interviews will be conducted by trained interviewers.

After completion of the CAPI questionnaire, some respondents will asked whether they wish to take part in an hour-long open-ended interview that will be tape-recorded. Invitations to take part in this interview will be generated by a computer programme on the basis of responses to the main CAPI questionnaire.

Key Findings (to Date)

Data collection almost completed.

Publications and Resources

Yap L, Butler T, Richters J, Kirkwood K, Grant L, Saxby M, Ropp F. Donovan B. Do condoms cause rape and mayhem? The long-term effects of condoms in New South Wales prisons. Sexually Transmitted Infections. 2007; 83:219-222

Download Report: Sexual health and behaviour of New South Wales prisoners [PDF - 3.5mB]