The Canadian government has announced they are going to try and reduce the amount of HIV and hepatitis in prisons by creating a program that allows inmates to get tattooed under controlled conditions.
The theory behind it sounds much like the ideas that are behind needle exchange programs. As much of prison tattooing is done in secret, tools are often homemade and shared, making the risk of blood-born disease transmission very high.
You can read more about his program
here.
Personally, I think this is a great idea in that it accepts that the behavior is going to occur no matter what and instead of taking the deterrent approach, which trys to stop the behavior, works instead to stop the disease transmission directly.
What do you think?
