‘Spice’, gender and stigma in the rural risk environment: findings from a deprived English county
This presentation will explore the use of New Psychoactive Substance Spice, and the gendered experiences of stigma among its users in a rural English county. Lincolnshire is the third poorest region in England according to Eurostat (2019) and features many pockets of severe deprivation (IoD, 2019). Among the county's homeless population, Spice is one of the more commonly used drugs. This has received much stigmatising coverage in the media (e.g. Duell, 2017), mirroring broader national trends stigmatising homeless persons (Leigh, 2023). This presentation, based on findings from the presenter's own Doctoral Research, explores stigma and Spice use in the context of the rural environment in Lincolnshire. It does this with a particular emphasis on gendered stigma and approaches to stigma management.
The research is based on 21 in depth, semi-structured interviews with Spice users recruited from two services (one recovery focused and one homeless service) and service professionals. Specifically, 10 service users and 11 professionals took part in the interview process which consisted of open questions and followed a life-story approach. Thematic analysis was used to analyse the data, following Baun and Clarke's (2006) method.
Key themes relate to regional and personal deprivation, with homelessness a common theme. Participants identified how Spice offered an escape from trauma; being strong, cheap and an easily attainable way of 'knocking [oneself] out'. The focus on escape reflected personal and socio-economic strains felt by users, who often had been left jobless and homeless following recession and austerity, but also by personal trumatic events such as escaping domestic abuse. These underpinnings were perceived as ignored by the public, which also led to the self-stigmatisation of feeling 'not worthy'. An important aspect of the research related to gendered differences in Spice use, risk and stigma. Female interviewees noted greater feelings of vulnerability using while homeless. Spice ability to 'knock out' users came with hightened risks for women. These greater self-perceived risks carried over to gendered stigma, with female users stigmatised further for being homeless and drug users. Greater stigma were attached to their bodies (e.g. being thin), which affected how the public and services interacted with them. Another important aspect of the research related to gendered differences in managing stigma. Whilst male participants spoke of feeling undeserving of compassion until it was shown to them, which consequently helped them re-build their identities, female participants illustrated self-compassion (Neff, 2011; 2021) and managed stigma through identity reconstruction and overcoming.
Though the research took place in the UK, the gendered nature of stigma and approaches to stigma management can be discussed on an international level as it considers comparable social, political and policy contexts in which these finding must be understood.
