Supporting women who use drugs during COVID-19

• Written by: PRAXXIS Women
• Published: 2nd June 2020

Women who use drugs are facing significant challenges during lockdown.  We all need to act to ensure they are safe at home.

A public health emergency, within a public health emergency, within a public health emergency is occurring in Scotland. This global pandemic is occurring within the context of the drug deaths emergency in Scotland, we currently have the highest drug deaths in Europe. We are also experiencing an HIV outbreak among the drug using population. Drug using women are at a higher risk of experiencing violent and abusive relationships than other women, and often struggle to access support to flee domestic and sexual abuse. There is an acknowledgement of the significant rise in domestic abuse across the globe during lockdown measures. At the time of writing this piece, the number of women and children murdered in the UK has doubled.  ‘Staying at home’ is not safe for many women or their children.

An immediate issue for drug users during the pandemic is securing a consistent supply of drugs and funds to buy them.  Many women will find it even more difficult than usual to access supports, including harm reduction and sexual health and wellbeing services.  One of our group, Mhairi McKean, HIV Street Support Project Manager with Waverley Care, discusses some of the issues and responses in her work in Glasgow. She said:

“The Project is continuing to support people remotely as well as working as part of a small team of 6 (being coordinated by NHS GG&C) as part of a crisis response.  This is undertaken in the evening where we offer harm reduction through Needle Exchange, naloxone (including on the spot training), condoms/femidoms and first aid.  In addition, we link with supported accommodation projects, Routes Out (for women involved in prostitution) and Simon Community, and respond to the need for essential medication through liaison with the Outreach Pharmacy Team. When doing crisis outreach work, we have come across women who are heavily under the influence with some being semi-conscious and one woman who had overdosed, and it transpired that she had only been released from prison the day before.  We have also been acutely aware that some women are continuing to beg to fund their addiction (when streets are practically empty this, of course, increases their vulnerability) and we have also seen men approaching them. Lastly, we are also concerned about women being forced into transactional sex by partners as a means of ‘paying’ for drugs and that this may force women to engage in risky behaviour.  This is also a major concern as the HIV outbreak is still not under control and no-one knows how the current crisis will impact on this.”

Call to Action: 

We have produced a poster to help signpost drug using women to supports around sexual health and wellbeing, domestic abuse, sexual abuse, food security, parenting help and support for women involved in selling or exchanging sex. See @praxxiswomen and share widely, please.

Specific supports for women who need drugs are urgently required.

This article was written by PRAXXIS Women. PRAXXIS Women is a Scottish policy, research and action collective seeking to improve outcomes for women affected by substance use. We do this informed by feminist and critical drug perspectives based on our collective expertise in education, research, practice and the living experience of women who use drugs.

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