Punitive drug policies have harmed people and communities worldwide. The harm takes various forms, from the denial of the right to health, mass incarceration and forced eradication, to stigma and discrimination. Numerous studies have documented such destructive policies and practices, their patterns and impacts. Often less articulated, but increasingly reported, are the disproportionate impacts on populations facing systemic marginalization due to their ethnicity, gender, sexuality, migration status, and/or (other) socioeconomic conditions.1 Research shows that women typically bear the brunt of such unjust dynamics.
Myanmar is among the top ten countries with the highest numbers of women and girls in penal institutions, alongside Brazil, China, Indonesia, Russia, Thailand, the United States and Vietnam.3 In 2020, the global number of women and girls in prisons was estimated at 740,000, a 17% increase since 2010.4 Of the female prison population in Argentina, Brazil, and Costa Rica, 60% are there for drug-related offences, mainly low-level offences committed by women from disadvantaged economic backgrounds.5 Globally, 35% of incarcerated women are in prisons for drug-related offences, compared to 19% of men.
Human rights violations in prisons are rampant, amidst worsening problems of overcrowding and the lack or absence of gender-sensitive healthcare. The devastating impact of punitive drug policies hits women’s health and lives even harder when they are poor, when they engage in informal and criminalised sectors such as sex work, and/or when they live with HIV, hepatitis, tuberculosis, and other communicable diseases. Moreover, stigma related to drug use and other illegal activities tends to marginalise women even further, while cases of gender-based violence – by partners, police, or others – frequently target women who use drugs.8 Women using drugs are thus facing a double stigma – discrimination and even violence is intensified by the prevailing patriarchal systems.
