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Women’s Imprisonment and Drug UseSafe Injecting Rooms
INTRODUCTION
Drugs are substances that have a physiological and often psychological effect on the way the body functions. Drug dependency affects many people. The 2022-2023 National Drug Strategy Household Survey estimated that 47% of all Australians aged 14 and over have used illicit drugs in their lifetime.
Substance abuse is a serious and complex issue that can have both short and long term effects on the user, their family, friends and community. These can be severe effects, and can contribute to the development of mental illness. Since the 1980s, Australia has adopted a policy of “harm minimisation,” however Australian drug laws still criminalise any engagement with illicit drugs.
History
Justice Action has previously been engaged in efforts surrounding drug reform in prisons since the 1990s, advocating for legalisation and better conditions for prisoners.
Harm Minimisation
Drug offences are currently criminalised in all Australian jurisdictions in Australia, which punish drug supply and possession with a range of jail sentences. While Australia has adopted some harm minimisation programs, there has been public pushback for such policies. The decriminalisation of drugs is in the best interests of Australian legislatures in promoting a harm minimisation approach to drug consumption in Australia.
Drugs in Prisons
A disproportionate percentage of individuals within Australian prisons have a history of alcohol, drug use and dependency. As individuals interacting with the justice system experience higher rates of social struggles such as homelessness and financial instability as well as disability, they are at further risk of developing dependency to alcohol and drugs.
Women’s Imprisonment and Drug Use
Drug use is a major factor in the imprisonment of women in Australia, but gender differences in pathways to drug use and crime are often neglected in Australian research. Studies show that female detainees are more likely than their male counterparts to use ‘hard’ drugs and commit property crimes. For example, data from the Australian Institute of Criminology shows higher rates of drug use among female prisoners, with significant use of substances like methamphetamine and heroin. Women also have higher rates of injecting drug use and smoking compared to men.
Support Services
There are many support services available to support those struggling with drug addiction. Each NSW Health local health district has a local central intake telephone line to connect people with alcohol and other drug services in that region.
Special Commission of Inquiry into the Drug “Ice”
In 2019, Justice Action provided a submission arguing that Australia’s punitive approach to drugs has failed to reduce Australia’s high overdose rate or to address the impact drug criminalisation has had on the Australian prison system. Justice Action recommended that the Portuguese Model should be adopted in NSW, allowing drug use to be treated as the medical condition it is, rather than a criminal one.
Portugal Drug Policy
In 2001, the Portuguese Government decriminalised the use of drugs and possession of small quantities to refocus drug-use as a health and social welfare concern. Following these legislative reforms, Portugal has seen the economic, social and health consequences related to criminalised drug-use considerably improved and this model has been a standout example for the success of the decriminalisation of drugs.
Needle and Syringe Programs
Justice Action has been advocating for Needle and Syringe Programs (NSPs) for decades. NSPs prevent the spread of blood borne diseases such as HIV, which is particularly an issue in vulnerable groups such as prisoners, by providing clean injection equipment and educational resources on drug use.
MAJOR ISSUES
LATEST PUBLICATIONS
[1] Antonette Gaffney and Jason Payne, ‘How much crime is drug or alcohol related? Self-reported attributions of police detainees’ (Report No. 439, Australian Institute of Criminology, May 2012) 1.
[2] Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, ‘The Health of Australia’s Prisoners 2012’ (2013) 78.