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OFFBEAT

Austrian prisoners to receive condoms and lubricant

'Safe sex packages' including an informative leaflet will be distributed to all new inmates in Austria's prisons.

Published: 28 June 2016 09:14 CEST
Austrian prisoners to receive condoms and lubricant
Photo: robertelyov/Flickr

The 'safe sex' packages contain condoms, lubricant, a toothbrush and toothpaste, as well as a leaflet with information about safe sex practice, Austrian newspaper Heute reported on Tuesday.

The leaflet has pictures of stick figures in sexual positions, to show how infections can occur.

“The take-care package, including information, is an important message about preventing infections, especially HIV and hepatitis B and C. Health is our priority,” a spokesperson for the Department of Justice, Britta Tichy-Martin, said, according to Heute.

The package will be available in 13 languages, including German, English, French, Arabic, Chinese and Swahili, reflecting the various nationalities of Austria's prison population.

Erection pills

In 2014 a whistleblower revealed that some long-term prisoners in Krems Stein prison in Lower Austria have been issued with 1000 Cialis-brand erectile-dysfunction drugs.

The story mentioned Cialis, which is prescribed as an erectile-dysfunction treatment, as an 'aphrodisiac', and expresses puzzlement at the motivation for the unusual clinical regime.

An employee received the order for 1000 doses of the 5 mg potency pills, which he found highly suspect.  According to Heute, the employee explained that “We only carry out the arrangements of the medical management.  Why long-term prisoners receive potency pills, is a matter solely for the chief physician to know.”

Christian Lausch, justice spokesman for the Austrian Freedom Party (FPÖ), called for an investigation into and an immediate halt of the distribution of the “potency treat.”  

“The fact that the taxpayer has to pay for them, makes this scandal twice as bad”, he said.

Prison Facts

Inmates are obliged to work in Austrian prisons. Therefore prisons run workshops and businesses in about 50 locations, and sell the products, including Christmas gifts, through a web site.
 
Prisoners are also able to buy other products, including erection medications.  It's not entirely clear why such a medicine is needed in prison.
 
For their work, inmates receive a salary, of which 75 percent is withheld as a contribution to the execution of the sentence.  The rest is divided, with one half of the money (12.5 percent) used as pocket money during imprisonment, and the other half saved for after their release. 
 
In addition the inmates contribute to unemployment insurance and are therefore entitled to receive unemployment benefits after their release from prison.
 
The average prison population in 2011 was 8,816.  As of September 1st, 2011 4,027 of inmates (46 percent) were non-Austrians, 572 were women (6 percent) and 149 adolescents.
 
Prison Costs
 
In 2013, there were 3,892 people working in the Austrian prison system, with 3,124 employed as prison guards. The remainder represent different professions, including doctors, psychologists, pastors, sociologists, trainers, social workers, therapists, nurses and administration staff. 
 
The average cost per inmate per day in prison in 2011 was €99.  The total amount spent over the year was €373 million.
 
The Austrian prison system consists of the following institutions:
  • 7 penal institutions for men – Stein, Graz-Karlau, Garsten, Suben, Sonnberg, Hirtenberg, Wien-Simmering
  • 1 penal institution for adolescents – Gerasdorf
  • 1 penal institutions for women – Schwarzau
  • 3 institutions for involuntary detention (Maßnahmenvollzug) – Göllersdorf, Wien-Mittersteig, Wien-Favoriten
  • 15 court institutions („gerichtliche Gefangenenhäuser“) – Eisenstadt, Wien-Josefstadt, Wr. Neustadt, St. Pölten, Krems, Korneuburg, Graz-Jakomini, Leoben, Klagenfurt, Linz, Wels, Ried i.I., Salzburg, Innsbruck, Feldkirch
  • The Vienna juvenile court – Wiener Jugendgerichtshilfe

HEALTH

What do you do in Austria if your nearest pharmacy is closed?

It's nine pm in Austria, and you're out of painkillers or decongestants. You're desperate for pain relief but your local Apotheke is shut, so what do you do?

Published: 12 December 2023 11:59 CET
What do you do in Austria if your nearest pharmacy is closed?

In Austria Apotheken (pharmacies) are the only places in which you can purchase painkillers and decongestants. Ostensibly in the public interest, but it’s also a lucrative moneymaker for the businesses. This monopoly on the sale of certain pharmaceutical drugs is a subject frequently debated and is of much consternation for overseas arrivals. 

READ MORE: Why are painkillers only sold in pharmacies in Austria?

However, many Apotheken can close as early as six pm, especially if you live outside a major city centre. If you’re suffering from a cold or a nasty headache, it can seem like an eternity until they reopen. 

Fortunately, there is relief. Emergency situations will always arise, and pharmacies often band together to provide service at nights, over weekends and on public holidays.

This is done on a rota basis, so your local Apotheke may not be open, there will be a Apotheken-Notdienst (Emergency-service pharmacy) within a 5 – 10km range. 

Often, Apotheken will have a sign or screen out the front that gives the address and opening times for Apotheken-Notdienst in the area, updated frequently.

A number of websites also exist that can give you the location of operating Apotheken-Notdienst across Austria, such as APO24.at. Entering your PLZ (or postcode) will list the nearest to you. 

However, if they don’t have online access, dialling 1455 while put you in touch with a service who can either direct you to the Apotheken-Notdienst on duty, or help you in getting you further assistance. 

If all else fails, your local hospital should have a Notfall-Praxis – ostensibly an emergency doctor service out of hours. If you’re prepared to wait, you will be able to see a doctor, and they can either dispense medication, or direct you to the hospital pharmacy with a prescription. 

Before you go, it’s worth brushing up on your vocabulary. The Local has developed a list of vocabulary and phrases that you can use to describe your symptoms to pharmacists and doctors, to help them prescribe the best possible medication.

READ MORE: Colds and flu: What to say if you get sick in Austria

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