Barriers to young people ’ s access to harm reduction
Lack of disaggregated data
Limited data on young people and drug use have created significant barriers for young people advocating for increased access to harm reduction services . Service providers and advocates lack disaggregated data about young people , leaving gaps in knowledge and , thus , in programming . There is little information about what kinds of young people are using drugs , what type of drugs they are using , how they are using them , what socio-economic factors are related to their use , and what other HIV risks they experience related to their use . United Nations Children ’ s Fund ’ s ( UNICEF ) Most At-Risk Adolescent study shows that in countries such as Ukraine and parts of Eastern Europe ’, the lack of disaggregated data and the legal obstacles to gathering data from minors is a barrier to programming . Globally , the lack of disaggregated data has significantly affected not only drug policies but also health and social policies . Without correct information about young people and drug use , effective best practices that truly reflect the needs of young people cannot be achieved .
Age restrictions and limitations
Many existing harm reduction programmes limit access to people under the age of 18 and often require parental consent in order for youth to access syringe / needle programmes , methadone maintenance treatment , drug treatment or rehabilitation . Young drug users are denied access to HIV prevention tools , such as access to sterile injection equipment , because either the service provider doesn ’ t recognise that they are adults or they do not wish to disclose their drug use to their parents . These age restrictions and limitations , coupled with the decreased initial age of first injection of drugs to as young as 12 years old , mean that many young people go without treatment or access to any sort of related health services well into their twenties . Several studies have shown the early age of injection is directly correlated to increased rates of hepatitis C and HIV risk behaviours , leaving young drug users extremely vulnerable to blood-borne pathogens and without support to prevent or treat these conditions .