Women and barriers to harm reduction services: a literature review and initial findings from a qualitative study in Barcelona, Spain
Abstract Background There are an estimated 3.2 million women who inject drugs worldwide, constituting 20% of all people who inject drugs. The limited data that are available suggest that women who inject drugs are at greater risk of HIV and viral hepatitis acquisition than men who inject drugs. This...
| Main Authors: | , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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BMC
2020-10-01
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| Series: | Harm Reduction Journal |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://link.springer.com/article/10.1186/s12954-020-00429-5 |
| _version_ | 1818389902128054272 |
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| author | Sam Shirley-Beavan Aura Roig Naomi Burke-Shyne Colleen Daniels Robert Csak |
| author_facet | Sam Shirley-Beavan Aura Roig Naomi Burke-Shyne Colleen Daniels Robert Csak |
| author_sort | Sam Shirley-Beavan |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract Background There are an estimated 3.2 million women who inject drugs worldwide, constituting 20% of all people who inject drugs. The limited data that are available suggest that women who inject drugs are at greater risk of HIV and viral hepatitis acquisition than men who inject drugs. This increased vulnerability is a product of a range of environmental, social and individual factors affecting women, which also affect their ability to engage in health promoting services such as harm reduction. Methods The researchers undertook a narrative literature review examining access to harm reduction services for women who use drugs in Europe and conducted semi-structured focus groups with women who use drugs and harm reduction and prison health workers in Barcelona, Spain. Results Women who use drugs face multiple barriers to accessing harm reduction services. These include stigma, both in society in general and from health and harm reduction workers in prisons and in the community; gender-based violence and a lack of services that are equipped to address the interaction between drug use and experiences of violence; criminalisation in the form of legal barriers to access, arrest and harassment from law enforcement, and incarceration; and a lack of services focused on the specific needs of women, notably sexual and reproductive health services and childcare. In Barcelona, participants reported experiencing all these barriers, and that their engagement with the Metzineres harm reduction centre had to some extent mitigated them. However, women continued to experience structural barriers to harm reduction service access. Conclusions Women and gender non-conforming people who use drugs face unique barriers to accessing harm reduction services. While services such as Metzineres can be life changing and life affirming for its members, it is incumbent on states to act to address the structural barriers to health faced by women who use drugs. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-14T04:49:06Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-51f2b7e42f6542e297d5c209daf03d63 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1477-7517 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-14T04:49:06Z |
| publishDate | 2020-10-01 |
| publisher | BMC |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Harm Reduction Journal |
| spelling | doaj.art-51f2b7e42f6542e297d5c209daf03d632022-12-21T23:16:36ZengBMCHarm Reduction Journal1477-75172020-10-0117111310.1186/s12954-020-00429-5Women and barriers to harm reduction services: a literature review and initial findings from a qualitative study in Barcelona, SpainSam Shirley-Beavan0Aura Roig1Naomi Burke-Shyne2Colleen Daniels3Robert Csak4Harm Reduction InternationalMetzineres. Environments of Shelter for Womxn Who Use Drugs Surviving ViolenceHarm Reduction InternationalHarm Reduction InternationalHarm Reduction InternationalAbstract Background There are an estimated 3.2 million women who inject drugs worldwide, constituting 20% of all people who inject drugs. The limited data that are available suggest that women who inject drugs are at greater risk of HIV and viral hepatitis acquisition than men who inject drugs. This increased vulnerability is a product of a range of environmental, social and individual factors affecting women, which also affect their ability to engage in health promoting services such as harm reduction. Methods The researchers undertook a narrative literature review examining access to harm reduction services for women who use drugs in Europe and conducted semi-structured focus groups with women who use drugs and harm reduction and prison health workers in Barcelona, Spain. Results Women who use drugs face multiple barriers to accessing harm reduction services. These include stigma, both in society in general and from health and harm reduction workers in prisons and in the community; gender-based violence and a lack of services that are equipped to address the interaction between drug use and experiences of violence; criminalisation in the form of legal barriers to access, arrest and harassment from law enforcement, and incarceration; and a lack of services focused on the specific needs of women, notably sexual and reproductive health services and childcare. In Barcelona, participants reported experiencing all these barriers, and that their engagement with the Metzineres harm reduction centre had to some extent mitigated them. However, women continued to experience structural barriers to harm reduction service access. Conclusions Women and gender non-conforming people who use drugs face unique barriers to accessing harm reduction services. While services such as Metzineres can be life changing and life affirming for its members, it is incumbent on states to act to address the structural barriers to health faced by women who use drugs.http://link.springer.com/article/10.1186/s12954-020-00429-5Harm reductionWomenPrisonEuropeBarcelonaSpain |
| spellingShingle | Sam Shirley-Beavan Aura Roig Naomi Burke-Shyne Colleen Daniels Robert Csak Women and barriers to harm reduction services: a literature review and initial findings from a qualitative study in Barcelona, Spain Harm Reduction Journal Harm reduction Women Prison Europe Barcelona Spain |
| title | Women and barriers to harm reduction services: a literature review and initial findings from a qualitative study in Barcelona, Spain |
| title_full | Women and barriers to harm reduction services: a literature review and initial findings from a qualitative study in Barcelona, Spain |
| title_fullStr | Women and barriers to harm reduction services: a literature review and initial findings from a qualitative study in Barcelona, Spain |
| title_full_unstemmed | Women and barriers to harm reduction services: a literature review and initial findings from a qualitative study in Barcelona, Spain |
| title_short | Women and barriers to harm reduction services: a literature review and initial findings from a qualitative study in Barcelona, Spain |
| title_sort | women and barriers to harm reduction services a literature review and initial findings from a qualitative study in barcelona spain |
| topic | Harm reduction Women Prison Europe Barcelona Spain |
| url | http://link.springer.com/article/10.1186/s12954-020-00429-5 |
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