On the International Day of Non-Violence EHRN calls women who use drugs to fight against violence towards them

Commemorating the International Day of Non-Violence (October 2, 2014), Eurasian Harm Reduction Network (EHRN) presents a video where activists and human rights experts call women who use drugs to fight violence against them. By releasing this video, EHRN wants to raise awareness about the widespread problem of police violence against women who use drugs in Central and Eastern Europe and Central Asia (CEECA) as well as to call women who use drugs to join the regional advocacy campaign “Women against Violence“ and to break silence by reporting cases of police violence through this online platform.

Violence against women remains widespread in CEECA. Despite the fact that general violence against women is well-documented, specific groups of women who use drugs and/or live with HIV are missing from the wider picture. Women who use drugs and live with HIV are the most vulnerable group for many reasons, including strong prejudice and stigma against them, which often results in gender-based discrimination and violence. When drug use, HIV status and sex work intersect, discrimination and violence doubles and women become more vulnerable to violence by police. In countries where drug use and sex work are criminalized, access to legal aid and basic health care is limited leaving women who use drugs powerless and unprotected at the hands of police.

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