The Harms of Incarceration: The Evidence Base and Human Rights Framework for Decarceration and Harm Reduction in Prisons

The criminalisation of drug use and possession and disproportionate criminal penalties for all drug offences result in the over-representation of people who use drugs in detention settings. Human rights violations occurring as a consequence of drug control, enforcement and deprivation of liberty have been a growing concern and progressively more attention is being paid on the balancing of concomitant obligations within the drug control and human rights international legal frameworks. This briefing provides advocates with the evidence base and human rights framework for decarceration and the provision of harm reduction services in prisons.