Integrating gender into all aspects of drug policy, including the criminal justice system. In its efforts to place human rights at the heart of drug policies, the Pompidou Group has decided to pursue further the work already undertaken towards integrating a gender dimension into drug policy by developing a handbook covering different drug policy areas. It seeks to promote gender sensitivity in drug responses as essential leverage to reduce health inequities and to respect human rights, especially the rights to diversity and dignity for women, men and non-binary people. The publication begins with an overview of epidemiological evidence on gender-based differences in drug use and related consequences. The handbook aims at providing policy makers and practitioners in the drug field with evidence-based and operational recommendations to develop and implement policies and interventions that better integrate specific gender needs (gender-sensitive approach) and support more gender equity (gender-transformative approach) for people concerned with the provision of drug-related prevention and care (risk and harm reduction, treatment, reintegration), including in the criminal justice system. Faithful to the Pompidou Group’s objective of ensuring a link between research, policy and practice, this handbook first explores theoretical views about gender and drug policy, draws on available scientific knowledge and presents recommendations and examples for practice. It is based on extensive debate and a consensus of experts from 13 countries and various professional backgrounds, for cross-cultural relevance.

The ebook edition of this title is Open Access and freely available to read online. Examining the impact of drug criminalisation on a previously overlooked demographic, this book argues that women are disproportionately affected by a flawed policy approach.

Estimates indicate that as many as 1 in 4 Americans will experience a mental health problem or will misuse alcohol or drugs in their lifetimes. These disorders are among the most highly stigmatized health conditions in the United States, and they remain barriers to full participation in society in areas as basic as education, housing, and employment. Improving the lives of people with mental health and substance abuse disorders has been a priority in the United States for more than 50 years. The Community Mental Health Act of 1963 is considered a major turning point in America's efforts to improve behavioral healthcare. It ushered in an era of optimism and hope and laid the groundwork for the consumer movement and new models of recovery. The consumer movement gave voice to people with mental and substance use disorders and brought their perspectives and experience into national discussions about mental health. However over the same 50-year period, positive change in American public attitudes and beliefs about mental and substance use disorders has lagged behind these advances. Stigma is a complex social phenomenon based on a relationship between an attribute and a stereotype that assigns undesirable labels, qualities, and behaviors to a person with that attribute. Labeled individuals are then socially devalued, which leads to inequality and discrimination. This report contributes to national efforts to understand and change attitudes, beliefs and behaviors that can lead to stigma and discrimination. Changing stigma in a lasting way will require coordinated efforts, which are based on the best possible evidence, supported at the national level with multiyear funding, and planned and implemented by an effective coalition of representative stakeholders. Ending Discrimination Against People with Mental and Substance Use Disorders: The Evidence for Stigma Change explores stigma and discrimination faced by individuals with mental or substance use disorders and recommends effective strategies for reducing stigma and encouraging people to seek treatment and other supportive services. It offers a set of conclusions and recommendations about successful stigma change strategies and the research needed to inform and evaluate these efforts in the United States.

Winner of the British Society of Criminology Book Prize, 2015 Fleetwood explores how women become involved in trafficking, focusing on the lived experiences of women as drug mules. Offering theoretical insights from gender theory and transnational criminology, Fleetwood argues that women's participation in the drugs trade cannot be adequately understood through the lenses of either victimization or agency.

Following an initial publication in 2022 on children whose parents use drugs, the Pompidou Group has continued research on this topic by looking at 33 programmes from 11 countries. These include data collection; parenting programmes; social and integrated services for children; multidisciplinary, holistic approaches to working with families; services for women victims and survivors of gender-based violence; protocols for co-operation; drug treatment services; and residential communities for women and their children. After giving the floor to women and children, respectively, in Volumes II and III of this series, the fourth volume offers a perspective of how to develop more comprehensive, child-centred approaches in drug policies in general and in non-stigmatising drug treatment and care in particular. This study, which is the outcome of international collaboration among researchers, practitioners and policy makers at different levels, works toward the ultimate goal of mainstreaming human rights, including children’s rights, into drug policy. The Children and families affected by parental drug use series comprises four volumes: Volume I Children whose parents use drugs – Promising practices and recommendations Volume II We are warriors – Women who use drugs reflect on parental drug use, their paths of consumption and access to services Volume III Listen to the silence of the child – Children share their experiences and proposals on the impact of drug use in the family Volume IV Children and parents affected by drug use – An overview of programmes and actions for comprehensive and non-stigmatising services and care

After an initial publication on children whose parents use drugs in 2022, the Pompidou Group has continued research on this topic as part of an ongoing effort to give visibility to these children and to develop proposals for creating or strengthening services that both protect children and support families. It also intertwines with the effort of the Pompidou Group to integrate a gender dimension into drug policies in Europe. This volume contains testimonies from 110 women who use drugs, in 11 different countries: Croatia, Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Malta, Mexico, North Macedonia, Romania and Switzerland, and who participated in individual or collective interviews about their parental drug use, their paths of consumption and how they access services, including the barriers and facilitators encountered. Their involvement through providing valuable information on gender-responsive, drugrelated policies is appreciated and their contribution is recognised. The Children and families affected by parental drug use series comprises four volumes: Volume I Children whose parents use drugs – Promising practices and recommendations Volume II We are warriors – Women who use drugs reflect on parental drug use, their paths of consumption and access to services Volume III Listen to the silence of the child – Children share their experiences and proposals on the impact of drug use in the family Volume IV Children and parents affected by drug use – An overview of programmes and actions for comprehensive and non-stigmatising services and care