UN Reports Suggest Women Are Less Likely to Seek Treatment for Drug Use Out of Fear of Losing Their Children

According to Fox News,  the United Nations (U.N.) drug body suggests female drug users worldwide are less likely than males to seek treatment. Discrimination against mothers, pregnant women, and cost of childcare, transport, and treatment have been attributed as reasons why many women decline to seek treatment.

Women who suffer from drug use problems are often stigmatized and find it challenging to leave their families and homes behind to undergo treatment, according to the United Nations office on Drugs and Crime’s (UNODC) annual World Drug Report.

UNODC says, 

“Punitive attitudes toward mothers and pregnant women mean many fear losing custody of their children as a condition of treatment, and this prevents them from seeking care.”

In a statement, UNODC Executive Yury Fedotov said,

“Women in particular appear to face barriers to treatment.”

According to the UNODC females are more likely than males to abuse prescription drugs, however less likely to use cannabis, cocaine or amphetamines. In spite of those statistics, the report says women who use addictive substances are more likely than men to develop serious health issues. The report also found that many women with drug use problems had the tendency to come from families where at least one other family member was dependent.

It is often difficult for women suffering from drug use problems to join outpatient programs due to challenges such as paying for childcare services, transport, and treatment. And while men are more likely to be influenced to seek treatment by their family members, their employer or the criminal justice system, women were more likely to have their problem identified by social services or health workers who refer them to treatment. Women with drug use problems were generally identified when seeking help for other issues such as mental health problems, according to the UNODC.

As reported by UNODC, the prevalence of drug use remains stable worldwide. Out of an estimated 246 million people, around five percent of those individuals aged 15 to 64 used an illicit drug in 2013. 27 million people have drug problems according to the UNODC.

 

What do you think can be done to help inspire more women suffering from drug use to seek help without being in fear?

 

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