Dianova participates in the preparation of a report aimed at EU drug policy decision-makers, with a view to enhancing the gender perspective
According to the CSFD, mainstreaming gender within EU policy documents implies including gender as a core and overarching principle of all policies and measures, rather than in individual points – image: adapted from Shutterstock
The European Union is clearly committed to and a strong advocate of gender equality both within and beyond its borders. With regard to drug policies, the EU is an international reference and advocate for the need for gender-sensitive policies and services. As a matter of fact, it was one of the priorities of the Swedish Presidency of the Council of the EU (January-June 2023).
One of the many roles of the Civil Society Forum on Drugs (CSFD), the European Commission’s expert group on drugs, of which Dianova is a member, is to advise on EU drug policies. Therefore, with the aim of enhancing the gender perspective in EU drug policies, the CSFD recently published a study in which it indicates possible measures and initiatives to be implemented in order to improve this matter.
After analyzing the evolution of the current European Drugs Strategy and Action Plan through a comparison with previous documents, the study indicates in which areas improvements have been made, and which aspects could be further reinforced in future policy formulations. It should also be noted that the recommendations made by the CSFD could be of use in policy formulation and service provision in non-EU member states.
Initially, the study was presented to the European Commission and the EU Horizontal Working Party on Drugs at the annual session of the CSFD in October 2022. In addition, at the 2023 CND annual session a side event, organized and moderated by Dianova, was held, the theme of which was the implications of a gender-sensitive drug policy (view event on YouTube) and where the update of the CSFD report was announced.
- Contribution from the Civil Society Forum on Drugs to Enhance the Gender Perspective into EU Drug Policy” (View full report).
Dianova has actively participated in the preparation of this report, coordinating members’ contributions, drafting some of the content and organizing presentations.