Women account for only 33% of the total number of drug users in the world and only 8% of the population incarcerated for this reason. Why is it important to include a gender approach even though the percentages are lower?
For those of us who work in the public sector, we know that many projects include gender equity, at least “on paper”. Sometimes, in a sophisticated way, we say that we include it in a “transversal way”.
As we at FIIAPP, an organization of the Spanish Cooperation system that leads COPOLAD III Program, take the feminist approach very seriously, we decided from the very beginning to include gender perspective, considering the “transversal”, but also concrete actions that promote equality. What happened when we put on our “violet glasses”? Many things changed.
Disaggregating data to better understand the reality
Drug data are usually not disaggregated. This creates a distorted version of the drug problem among women.
In these four years, we have worked on the construction of scientific evidence together with the National Drug Observatories of Latin America and the Caribbean, with the inclusion of the gender approach in eight of them. To this end, we created working groups, held trainings and meetings, listened to many women, exchanged good practices and also developed a guide to incorporate the gender approach in drug research systems. The data and percentages began to change and so did the way we approached these problems.
From data to resources
For example, we learned that while 45% of the population using amphetamine-type stimulants in the past year were women, only 27% of them accessed treatment resources. Why are women accessing treatment services less? What are we doing wrong? The gender perspective also helps to identify needs and look for causes.
We also observed that gender-based violence among women who use drugs is much higher than among non-users. Seventy-five percent of female users indicate that they have suffered physical violence, and 45% sexual violence. These are data to be taken into account when creating care or even shelters. Or when identifying the gender of the people who care for them.
Capacity building has been a constant throughout these years of activity and exchange between drug administrations. The European Guide on Health and Social Responses to Drug Use Problems has been adapted to Latin America and the Caribbean. The community sphere has been key, with training on the ECO2 Community Treatment model and the guide of good practices for community intervention, which includes a gender perspective.
A growing concern has been the need to link care more effectively with subsequent socioeconomic inclusion, creating mechanisms and tools for social incorporation designed especially for women and diverse populations. There is still much to be done in this field.
From the Program we continue to address the stigmatization suffered by women consumers in the context of drugs with the preparation of a policy document on women, drugs and stigma. For example, in Mexico, we have promoted a Guide to address drug use in populations of sexual diversity, and an associated toolbox for social and health care centers (in Spanish) with CONASAMA.
The region with the most women in prison in the world
The gender perspective is undoubtedly relevant to the issue of security. No one doubts that, in this sector, the imbalances between men and women are enormous. The population deprived of liberty is 92% male, but what happens when we look at the percentage of women in Latin America? Well, most of them are in prison for drug-related offenses, making it the region with the highest number of women incarcerated for drug-related crimes in the world. The figures continue to rise, 60% in the last century.
And how have we responded to this context? COPOLAD III has cooperated with regional organizations related to justice and security in the development of standards, protocols, guidelines and exchanges that take into account the context and vulnerabilities of women who are often the weakest links in the drug trafficking chain.
An example of this is the collaboration with the Ibero-American Association of Public Prosecutors (AIAMP), which in Europe corresponds to the public prosecutors’ offices, to incorporate the gender approach in the development of guidelines in the comprehensive approach to drug trafficking investigations involving women victims of trafficking. This work is being implemented in some countries such as Brazil, Argentina and Paraguay, where it has identified needs in this field.
With the Inter-American Association of Public Defender’s Offices (AIDEF) (also known as public defenders), we have developed a regional protocol for specialized defense for women in conflict with the law for committing drug offenses, which has already been adopted in some countries, such as Paraguay. Costa Rica, with the support of COPOLAD III, has a protocol for Integral Attention to Women in Conflict with the Criminal Law.
We have also promoted a practical guide for the inclusion of gender in alternative development (AD) projects, since many rural women are in a situation of inequality in the drug market value chain.
For many years, drug policies have not taken into account half of the world’s population. The inclusion of the “gender glasses” in our program has made us see the reality in a broader way and work to find more adequate solutions.
Thank you to all of you who are supporting this process on both sides of the Atlantic – Happy 8th March, International Women’s Day!
Authors: Mercedes Alonso and Arantxa Freire, COPOLAD III Program specialists.
