Insite a safe haven from violence for female injection drug users

published on July 29, 2008

(Vancouver) – Downtown Eastside female injection drug users (IDUs) feel that Insite, North America’s first supervised injection facility, offers refuge from the everyday violence they experience and helps improve their control over resources such as safe injection equipment, says a new study authored by the BC Centre for Excellence in HIV/AIDS (BC-CfE).

The study, published in Social Science & Medicine, examined how Insite mediates the impact of violence among women during the drug injection process. From November 2005 to March 2007, the BC-CfE conducted 25 in-depth interviews with women who access the facility.

"Violence and gender inequities in access to resources have been shown to place female IDUs at higher risk of contracting HIV or hepatitis C,” explains study co-author Dr. Kate Shannon. “Our participants’ responses show that Insite is a unique, controlled environment that provides a safe alternative to the street-based drug scene and reduces the harms commonly experienced by women”

"Everyday” violence describes the normalization of violence for female IDUs that renders it invisible because of its routine frequency. Women’s daily survival on the streets requires vigilance in coping with immediate dangers such as the threat of robbery, physical abuse, rape, murder and arrest.

Previous studies highlight the vulnerability of women IDUs in Vancouver. Among this population, women under the age of 30 are 54 times more likely to die prematurely, compared with the general female population, with the more frequent cause of death being homicide.

"Interventions such as SIFs that specifically target the context in which violence occurs are particularly important,” says Shannon. “By providing a refuge for women, they afford women the opportunity to assert greater agency with respect to resources and negotiation of drug-related risks.”

Participants’ responses detailed the male-centred ideology of drug culture. Women described how they are routinely hassled and exploited (‘grinded’) by men for drugs or money due to their perceived ability to access resources and generate income, such as through survival sex work.

"Examining drug-using intimate partner relations is a priority for developing effective harm reduction strategies,” Shannon adds. “The unequal gender scripts within these relationships can directly affect a woman’s ability to control sexual and drug-related practices, and better ensure her safety.”

BC Centre for Excellence in HIV/AIDS

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Insite a safe haven from violence for female injection drug users

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