In April 2019 the OYO dance troupe had a chance to perform to inmates in six correctional facilities (Windhoek, Luderitz, Hardap, Walvis Bay, Oluno and E. Shikongo) as part of its ‘In and Out’ project, funded by OSISA. OYO took this chance to ask 122 male inmates for their opinion/ experience when it comes to HIV. A questionnaire was distributed after the performance of the dance troupe to inmates in the presence of and under the supervision of the various facilities’ officers.
The survey shows that The Ministry of Safety and Security is clearly doing very well in areas such as testing and counselling as reported by inmates themselves. However more work still needs to be done to ensure inmates living with HIV can keep their status confidential and choose when and to whom to disclose their status. Finally more work can be done to ensure our correctional facilities are safe spaces where no discrimination is taking place.