‘ When we give people the time and space to tell their own stories on their own terms , we can begin to deconstruct the stigma they encounter .’ |
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CALLIE DAVIDSON |
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and any female attendees could often be the only woman in the group . ‘ I hear from women who are terrified that there won ’ t be a woman available to sponsor them .’ Women felt that there were defined gender roles throughout the drug world , she said . ‘ I remember user involvement groups in the NTA days – when I agreed with the men I was a princess , and when I disagreed I was a bitch . I still go to events now where I ’ m asked to write my name , phone number and email address on a piece of paper that will then be passed around the room .’ Society was structurally and institutionally sexist , so it was little surprise that treatment services had been designed around the needs of men , she added . ‘ Whether they meet men ’ s needs or not is a discussion for another day , but time and time again I hear women telling me that this one size doesn ’ t fit anyone .’
Sometimes doing the smaller things could be the beginning of significant changes , said Hannah Shead – ‘ creating women-only
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spaces in your services will start to show women that there ’ s somewhere safe . Think of those small changes you can make , and have the courage to make them . And when we ’ re delivering , designing , planning , let ’ s think about the women in our services – and think about the women who perhaps aren ’ t coming to our services because of the way we design and plan them .’
THE STORIES WE TELL Callie Davidson , programmes coordinator at Safe Ground – a national organisation that delivers arts-based group work to people in prison and community settings – then shared the experiences of stigma among people the organisation works with . ‘ We know that our participants are capable of far more than they ’ re given credit for ,’ she said .
Her organisation was concerned with ‘ the stories we tell ourselves , the stories we tell one another and the stories that are told about us ,’ she said . Concepts
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of identity and relationships were central , and participants were encouraged to reflect on , and learn from , their own lives .
‘ We work hard to create a space in which biases and preconceptions are acknowledged and interrogated . But the goal of our methodology and the way we approach our work is to make room for participants to be themselves . So I want to encourage you all not to wait for an annual conference to invite people ’ s stories . Every day we ’ re presented with the opportunity to hear people ’ s
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stories and discover the wealth of experience , creativity , reflections and ideas they have to offer . When we give people the time and space to tell their own stories on their own terms , we can begin to deconstruct the stigma they encounter .’ DDN For more information on the Anti-Stigma Network , or to join , visit : https :// www . antistigmanetwork . org . uk / about-anti-stigma-network
Find out more about the Women ’ s Treatment Working Group at www . collectivevoice . org . uk and Safe Ground at socialinterestgroup . org . uk / our-services / safe-ground /
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