Campaign for the elimination of violence against women who use drugs (EVAWUD 2025)

The EVAWUD Toolkit is available here.

EVAWUD — Eliminate Violence Against Women and Gender Diverse People Who Use Drugs — is an annual global campaign coordinated by the Women and Harm Reduction International Network (WHRIN) and partner organisations. It takes place each year during the 16 Days of Activism against Gender-Based Violence, from 25 November to 10 December.

The campaign shines a spotlight on the extreme and widespread violence experienced by women and gender diverse people who use drugs, and on the urgent need for drug policies grounded in human rights, gender equality, and harm reduction.

EVAWUD exposes how patriarchal norms and punitive drug laws intersect to produce gendered violence and exclusion. Women and gender diverse people who use drugs face violence at up to 25 times the rate of women in the general population — including extra-judicial killings, forced sterilisation and abortion, sexual and physical violence, loss of child custody, imprisonment for personal drug use, and denial of essential health and social services.

The campaign centres the leadership of women and gender diverse people who use drugs, highlighting peer-led responses and community-based initiatives that provide effective, rights-based solutions. EVAWUD advocates for:

• The integration of sexual and reproductive health and GBV services within harm reduction programmes;
• Meaningful involvement and leadership of women and gender diverse people who use drugs in shaping policy and services;
• The full decriminalisation of all drug use and possession, to reduce stigma, violence, and state abuse linked to the “war on drugs”.

Through coordinated global actions, storytelling, and advocacy during the 16 Days of Activism, EVAWUD challenges systemic violence and affirms the right of women and gender diverse people who use drugs to live with safety, dignity, and autonomy.