Main description:

This book offers a unique examination of how violence is situationally induced and reproduced for those inmates living with HIV in a US State prison system. Imprisonment is the only space where Americans have a constitutional right to healthcare but findings from this research suggest that accessing this care and associated welfare benefits requires some degree of violence. This book documents how HIV-positive inmates went about achieving agency through harm to their bodies and social standing to improve their health and wellbeing, in prison and upon re-entry to the community. It focusses on ethnographic research which was carried out in seven penal facilities in New England and comprises of accounts from inmates, prison staff, healthcare providers, ex-offenders, and community social workers. This book speaks to academics interested in prisons, violence, health, and ethnographic research, and to policy makers.

Contents:

1. Introduction: Violence in Pursuit of Health2. A Study on Prison Violence and HIV3. Why Would an Inmates Swallow Razor Blades?4. Benefits of Degradation5. The Staff Who Play Prison Games6. From Care to CorrectionsDiscussion: Degradation and Prison Games