A decade of underfunding and a lack of consideration of women’s needs has left the treatment system unfit for their needs. This one-day course is an introduction to working with women in a harm reduction setting.
The session will include exploring and understanding the barriers women experience in accessing harm-reduction services, understanding pragmatic approaches to reducing these barriers, and discussing how working practices need to address these.
This course is designed for anyone working within substance use services who wants to consider women’s specific needs around harm reduction. It is appropriate for new and experienced drugs workers. The main focus is on giving delegates the practical skills required to work within a harm-reduction methodology.
Learning Objectives
Understand the philosophy behind harm reduction and gender justice
Examine the categorisation of substances related to harm and gender
Understand how harm reduction fits with safeguarding and explore the principles of radical safeguarding
Understand the major barriers women face in accessing harm reduction
Identify and explore ways of overcoming the barriers in services
Develop a plan of how to make your harm reduction services more accessible to women