Representations of women and drug use in policy: A critical policy analysis

Contemporary clinical academic discourse on substance use endorses the idea that women who use drugs demonstrate unique characteristics and treatment needs, as evidenced by the push for ‘gender-sensitivity’ in treatment and policy (Grella, 2008; Martin& Aston, 2014; Tang, Claus, Orwin, Kissin,& Arieira, 2012). Research indicates that women who use drugs have high rates of mental health problems as well as histories of childhood victimisation and trauma, and have greater vulnerability to health and social harms from their drug use and dependence (Ashley, Marsden,& Brady, 2003; Copeland, 1997; Greenfield et al., 2007; Pelissier& Jones, 2017; Shand, Degenhardt, Slade,& Nelson, 2011).

Source: International Journal of Drug Policy - March 13, 2018 Category: Addiction Authors: Natalie Thomas, Melissa Bull Tags: Research Paper Source Type: research