Violence in Pursuit of Health: Living with HIV in the American Prison System (Palgrave Studies in Prisons and Penology)

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. Front Matter ....Pages i-xi Introduction: Violence in Pursuit of Health (Landon Kuester)....Pages 1-20 A Study on Prison Violence and HIV (Landon Kuester)....Pages 21-33 Why Would An Inmate Swallow Razor Blades? (Landon Kuester)....Pages 35-58 Benefits of Degradation (Landon Kuester)....Pages 59-86 The Staff Who Play Prison Games (Landon Kuester)....Pages 87-115 From Care to Corrections (Landon Kuester)....Pages 117-134 Back Matter ....Pages 135-197