Only 16% of male inmates in the country’s prisons are aware that HIV-AIDS can be transmitted through sexual contact, according to a study by DIGECITTS, the body responsible for monitoring contagious diseases. A significant percentage believed that HIV-AIDS could be contracted from caring for or bathing someone with the disease. It also found that a large proportion of prisoners are sexually active, 67% of males admitted to having sexual relations in prison, yet only 16% said they knew how the disease was transmitted. Female prisoners showed a slightly higher awareness rate of 26%. A third of those questioned said they had had “11 or more” sexual relationships in the last three months, yet less than half said they used condoms. The study concluded that prison crowding was a main factor in what it described as “sexual promiscuity” between inmates. Men comprise the overwhelming majority of prisoners in Dominican jails, accounting for 96.5% of all inmates.