This article explores how discrimination and inequality shape access to support and health care for women who use drugs, their experiences in the drug trade and drug control policies. It identifies the disproportionate burdens faced by poor and otherwise marginalized women. Drug control policies often fail to meaningfully address the specific needs and circumstances of women, leaving them at risk of recurrent violations of their rights in the context of drugs. In recent years, UN member states and UN drug control and human rights entities have recognized this issue and made commitments to integrate a ‘gender perspective’ into drug control policies, with ‘gender’ limited to those conventionally deemed women. This article points to international guidelines on human rights and drug control as an important tool to ensure attention to women’s rights in drug control policy design and implementation.
Citation: International Guidelines on Human Rights and Drug Control: A Tool for Securing Women's Rights in Drug Control Policy, Rebecca Schleifer and Luciana Pol. Journal of Health and Human Rights, 19.1, June 2017.