Gender and drugs in Europe

Issues, challenges and future perspectives
In programme
Wednesday, 23 October, 2019 - 16:50 to 18:20
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The gender issues are increasingly at the centre of cultural, social and political debate at international level. The United Nations have defined “Gender Equality” as the fifth of the 17 sustainable development goals to be achieved by 2030, as part of the Resolution 70/1 of the United Nations General Assembly.

In the drug field men far outnumber women among drug users and the proportion is higher among intensive drug users. In Europe women represent around 30-40% of recreational drug users and 10-20% of most intensive and problematic drug users. Women and men differ in risk factors for initiating drug use, prevalence and patterns of drug use, consequences of drug use and involvement in drug treatment. Recent trends point to a narrowing gender gap in recreational drug use and this has to be closely monitored.. The factors explaining the gender differences are multiple and come from different disciplinary fields; but reasons for differences are still inconclusive.

The session has the objective to raise the issue of gender in the drug field and discuss with experts from several sectors, including universities, governments, international organisations, NGOs and different European countries how gender issues should be approached in the drug field and how the current gender debate can contribute to a better understanding of the drug issues and support policy, practice, research and monitoring.

Chair

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