Incarceration impacts negatively on inmates’ psychosocial wellbeing. Upon arrest and subsequent Incarceration, most inmates lose contact with their families, friends and community in general, face discrimination and stigma. Some must deal with the shame of the acts that led them into these facilities without appropriate and safe opportunities to express and get support. The social and physical environment around correctional facilities ranging from overcrowding, poor nutrition, humiliating treating from officers as well as among themselves affect the ability of inmates to seek other services such as treatment for those on lifelong medication, special dietary requirements to mention but a few. Such social and physical environmental conditions compound their low self-worthiness, feelings of being insecure, increase aggressive behaviours, heightened stress and interpersonal sensitivity among others. In turn, these impede opportunities for in-facility reformation process for which Correctional facilities were set-up. In its transformative process, Zambia Correctional Service needs support to move from a focus on retribution, incapacitation and deterrence, to having a enough focus on rehabilitation; one that is responsive to the holistic needs of inmates.

In a related manner, other key populations such as men having sex with men face almost similar challenges. To begin with Zambian law criminalizes consensual same-sex sexual activity deemed ‘acts against the order of nature1”, attracting 14 years to life imprisonment. This has led those involved to withdraw and hide their identities for fear of victimization, discrimination and ultimately arrests. The country being a Christian Nation with conservative belief systems that at most are intolerant to ‘none conforming’ sexual orientation and gender identities also heightens the anxiety levels among persons involved in same sex sexual relationships. This results in rampant incidents of societal discrimination against lesbians, gays, bi-sexual, transgender and inter-sex (LGBTI) persons. Incidents of societal violence on the bases of gender, sex and orientation is common feature. Political, religious and media rhetoric that take a hardliner stance on the matter thereby worsening the situation even more. Consequently, persons involved in same sex sexual relationships endure verbal abuse, harassment, blackmail and in the worst cases corrective rape.

The prevailing prejudices additionally result in increased levels of anxiety, interpersonal sensitive, obsessive-compulsive behavior and engagement in risky sexual behaviour. Incarceration impacts negatively on inmates’ psychosocial wellbeing. Upon arrest and subsequent Incarceration, most inmates lose contact with their families, friends and community in general, face discrimination and stigma. Some must deal with the shame of the acts that led them into these facilities without appropriate and safe opportunities to express and get support. The social and physical environment around correctional facilities ranging from overcrowding, poor nutrition, humiliating treating from officers as well as among themselves affect the ability of inmates to seek other services such as treatment for those on lifelong medication, special dietary requirements to mention but a few. Such social and physical environmental conditions compound their low self-worthiness, feelings of being insecure, increase aggressive behaviours, heightened stress and interpersonal sensitivity among others.

 In turn, these impede opportunities for in-facility reformation process for which Correctional facilities were set-up. In its transformative process, Zambia Correctional Service needs support to move from a focus on retribution, incapacitation and deterrence, to having a sufficient focus on rehabilitation; one that is responsive to the holistic needs of inmates.

In a related manner, other key populations such as men having sex with men face almost similar challenges. To begin with Zambian law criminalizes consensual same-sex sexual activity deemed ‘acts against the order of nature”, attracting 14 years to life imprisonment. This has led those involved to withdraw and hide their identities for fear of victimization, discrimination and ultimately arrests. The country being a Christian Nation with conservative belief systems that at most are intolerant to ‘none conforming’ sexual orientation and gender identities also heightens the anxiety levels among persons involved in same sex sexual relationships.

This results in rampant incidents of societal discrimination against lesbians, gays, bi-sexual, transgender and inter-sex (LGBTI) persons. Incidents of societal violence on the bases of gender, sex and orientation is common feature. Political, religious and media rhetoric that take a hardliner stance on the matter thereby worsening the situation even more. Consequently, persons involved in same sex sexual relationships endure verbal abuse, harassment, blackmail and in the worst cases corrective rape. The prevailing prejudices additionally result in increased levels of anxiety, interpersonal sensitive, obsessive-compulsive behavior and engagement in risky sexual behaviour.

To support better support the psychosocial needs of Key population in Zambia, UNODC now seeks to engage a consultant to develop a framework to support implementation of tailored psychosocial needs of Key Population.