ABSTRACT
This chapter outlines how a particular approach to supporting health care and health promotion in prisons has been developed in Europe - the WHO Health in Prisons Project (HIPP). It examines how HIPP has made sustainable progress in the health of women prisoners possible. The chapter points out that women are 14 times more likely than men to harm themselves while in prison. It contains advice on dealing with such issues in the prison environment. HIPP has a dream, in which all societies ensure that their places of compulsory detention are run on the basis of full recognition of human rights. In such detention facilities, all professional staffs recognize that their commitment is to the prisoner as patient and deserving of the same ethical practices as generally apply in health care. The WHO HIPP owes its success to the current participation of 35 countries of Europe and the skilled support of partner organizations.
