Young Female Drug Misusers: Towards an Appropriate Policy (From Growing Up Good: Policing the Behavior of Girls in Europe, P 177-196, 1989, Maureen Cain, ed.)

• NCJ Number: 119760
• Author(s): E Oppenheimer
• Date Published: 1989
• Length: 20 pages
• Sale Source: Sage Publications, Inc
• Publication Type: Survey
• Language: English
• Country: United Kingdom

Annotation

Drug clinics in the United Kingdom currently do not offer specialized treatment for women, but policy trends suggest that such treatment for female drug abusers may emerge.

Abstract

A recent survey of British drug clinics found that only 13 percent offered women treatment differing from that offered to men, and as few as 3 percent offered different facilities, such as separate waiting rooms. Among voluntary agencies, there is also a sparseness of facilities for women as a specialized category of drug users. In recent policy documents, however, there is an increased attention to women's needs, largely resulting from the alarming increase in drug abuse among women and the demands for specialized attention to women drug abusers from feminists, doctors, and social workers. One of the primary complaints by women addict is that their problems of dependency and low self-esteem are exacerbated by the circumstances in which treatment and care are offered them, since the treatment world is so male-oriented. The particular emotional needs and cultural conditioning experienced by women as well as the difficulties of drug-dependent mothers warrant specialized treatment for women drug users.