One of our longstanding traditions at IDCR is to honor women during the month of May by writing about the impact of HIV on incarcerated women. Only one in seven inmates in the U.S. is female, but the healthcare of these women is more complicated, and more costly, than the care of incarcerated men. This is because they have higher rates of STIs, HIV and HCV. These incarcerated women are also burdened with higher rates of mental illness than male detainees due to intensive, long-term exposures to sexual, physical and psychological violence.¹ Because these women have more health problems, it is critically important to provide them healthcare. Reaching out to these women while they are incarcerated, identifying and treating their HIV and HCV infections and addressing their mental health needs, has an impact that reaches far beyond prison walls.

More often than not, on the outside, these women are mothers, sisters, partners and caretakers. Therefore, incarceration provides us an opportunity to inform women about HIV and HCV, to give them the tools and treatment necessary to reduce their risk and better protect themselves from infection if they are not already infected. If they are already infected, we can help them prevent transmission of these infections to their partners and unborn children.

The authors of the articles included in this issue of IDCR have been involved in the care of HIV-infected women, inside and outside of prison, for the entire course of the HIV epidemic. They have found that the care of these women can be as rewarding for the practitioner as it is for the patient. Even though HIV or HCV infections have had a terrible impact on the lives of these women offenders, those who have cared for them on the inside have witnessed their enormous resilience, a willingness to carry on and to improve their own health despite the many obstacles that they encounter. One of the main factors that motivates them is the hope of regaining contact with and custody of their children. It is our belief that caring for these women means that we are caring for the communities - the families, the children, to whom they return, after release.

Lastly, we would like to take this opportunity to thank our colleagues in the field for their dedication to caring for HIV-infected women inside prison, and out.