“It is urgent to rethink addiction treatment programmes in order to effectively respond to women’s needs”
Intimate partner violence is a trigger or aggravating factor for substance use disorders – Photo by Sydney Sims on Unsplash
Lucía Goberna, head of Institutional Relations for Dianova International, responded to an interview with ‘Human Connection’, a website that broadcasts free podcasts dedicated to social and cultural issues. Each week, ‘Human Connection’ conducts an interview with different stakeholders, in order to promote multicultural values and highlight specific projects.
Lucia addressed the issue of gender-based violence and its links to substance use disorders in women. As she pointed out, this type of violence, especially intimate partner violence, has a major negative impact on women’s physical and mental well-being and that of their children, especially among those who use drugs. It can even be argued that violence against women is a trigger or aggravating factor for substance use disorders.
Unfortunately, women who use drugs and experience violence are usually not referred to addiction services adapted to these specific problems. When they do seek help they often end up in co-ed services, where they are unable to talk about the intimate partner violence they are experiencing.
According to Lucía, there is an urgent need to implement more women-only reception and treatment services adapted to their needs. At present, as the United Nations has pointed out, while 1 in 3 drug users is a woman, only 1 in 5 people in treatment is a woman. It is time to change this!
On the occasion of the 65th session of the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW65), which is taking place from March 15 to 26 in New York, Dianova and its partners have organized two parallel events on these themes.
Read press release about Dianova’s events
Listen to the podcast
https://youtu.be/QxRH88qnfGc
