Abstract
BackgroundThere 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.MethodsThe 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.ResultsWomen 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.ConclusionsWomen 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.
Highlights
There are an estimated 3.2 million women who inject drugs worldwide, constituting 20% of all people who inject drugs [1]
*Correspondence: sam.shirleybeavan@hri.global 1 Harm Reduction International, 61 Mansell Street, London E1 8AN, UK Full list of author information is available at the end of the article limited data that are available suggest that women who inject drugs are at greater risk of Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and viral hepatitis acquisition than men who inject drugs [3]
The evidence in the literature on barriers to accessing harm reduction for women who use drugs can be broadly categorised in four intersecting themes: stigma and structural violence, gender-based violence, criminalisation and a lack of female-specific services
Summary
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
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
