People who use drugs (PWUD) across diverse global contexts are facing an unprecedented overdose crisis, with rates of overdose-related morbidity and mortality continuing to increase in many settings. Although opioid-related overdoses represent an urgent public health and social emergency that affect men, women, and gender-diverse individuals, our current understanding of gendered experiences and needs in the context of the overdose crisis remains limited.1 To inform robust responses to the overdose crisis, research, policy, and interventions must carefully consider gender-based experiences, including the unique harm reduction and addiction service needs of women who use drugs.2,3 For example, harm reduction services tend to be male-oriented spaces, and women often report highly gendered barriers to accessing harm reduction, including the unique and overlapping stigmas faced by women who use drugs, concerns regarding safety, and the threat of violence in and beyond service delivery settings.
Source: https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamanetworkopen/fullarticle/2771376