PARLIAMENTARY GROUP
INVISIBLE WOMAN
Why are we still failing to see a woman as someone needing specific services and support , asked speakers at the parliamentary group . DDN reports
Women face very specific challenges when it comes to accessing drugs treatment and it is essential that we design services to meet these needs , WDP ’ s Yasmin Batliwala told the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Drugs , Alcohol and Justice .
Despite making up more than half of the population they were still largely invisible in treatment , with most health and social care provision historically designed by men for men .
There were positive developments , such as Dame Lesley Regan ’ s appointment as the government ’ s first women ’ s health ambassador for England and the increase in funding in the drug strategy , which could represent real opportunity to make meaningful improvements to services for women . The Women ’ s Treatment Working Group , part of Collective Voice , was bringing together female leaders in the sector to advocate for wide-ranging and sustainable system change .
Hannah Shead , chair of the working group and CEO of Trevi , a Devon-based service providing specialist women ’ s community and residential care , highlighted the urgent need to engage
women in services , underlined by the increase in drug-related deaths among women not in treatment .
We need to think outside the normal framework to reach these women ,’ she said . ‘ Research has shown that women ’ s experience around drugs and alcohol is different , with a shorter period before use becomes problematic – sometimes referred to as telescoping . We need to recognise that women ’ s pathways might be different to men ’ s .’
There were multiple barriers to women accessing treatment – one of the most common being fear of social services intervening and taking children into care . Trevi ’ s work had demonstrated the effectiveness of engaging with pregnant women and women with children , during what could be a window of opportunity .
Women had often suffered abuse and entered into treatment carrying a large amount of residual trauma that needed to be addressed . They also faced stigma from societal expectation that women should not take drugs or drink to excess .
April Wareham had encountered these feelings of stigma and shame when facilitating women ’ s workshops . She also spoke of her experience , a personal story she didn ’ t often tell , as ‘ where I come from it ’ s nothing unusual ’. Despite being brought up in an abusive home , enduring abusive relationships and being the victim of sexual violence , she considered herself ‘ one of the lucky ones ’ as she was able to access a women ’ s service .
Fifteen years on she was able
Women-specific services shouldn ’ t just be ‘ add-ons ’ but must be integrated into provision .
to say , ‘ I ’ m not sorry anymore . I ’ m not sorry for my childhood . I ’ m not sorry I stayed with him because I was too scared to leave and didn ’ t know where to get help . I ’ m not sorry that when I said no it wasn ’ t respected . I ’ m not sorry that the system didn ’ t work for me , and I ’ m not sorry that my story upsets other people . I want the women in that workshop to not be sorry either .’
Women-specific services didn ’ t just help women ; they also led to better supported families and communities , said Anna Whitton
CEO of WDP . These services shouldn ’ t just be ‘ add-ons ’ but must be integrated into provision , and it was essential that we remembered this when talking to commissioners and designing services . Engaging more women in treatment would result in more women working in the sector and running peer support and lived experience organisations .
There were some great examples of how to provide women ’ s services such as Trevi , Turning Point ’ s Westminster service , and the planned womenonly residential service by Phoenix Futures together with the Ley Community , but she emphasised the importance of consistent change across the country . The lack of a women-only residential detox was a concern , but something WDP hoped to address .
Despite little specific emphasis on women ’ s services the new drug strategy was a source of optimism . Increased funding was providing an opportunity to recruit specialist women ’ s workers and upskill current staff to address the issues that women faced . Dame Carol Black ’ s report highlighted the need for more research and evidence-based services across the sector , and the women ’ s working group had commissioned research to help build better-informed services . DDN
A free webinar for frontline workers on 8 March , International Women ’ s Day , will challenge stigma around women who use drugs . Book at https :// bit . ly / 3HUVgrO
WWW . DRINKANDDRUGSNEWS . COM FEBRUARY 2023 • DRINK AND DRUGS NEWS • 23