This briefing paper aims to raise awareness about the widespread and severe impact of GBV on women and people of diverse gender identity and expression who use drugs, as well as the strong connection between GBV and the HIV epidemic within these populations. It outlines practical responses that harm reduction providers and allied services can adopt to address violence and support the rights and health of these groups. The paper also demonstrates how a gender-responsive approach to drug use can improve outcomes for women and gender-diverse individuals by reducing harm, increasing access to...

Background:

Since 1996, an urban community-based organization has been providing screening, testing, overdose prevention, referrals, and access to treatment for substance use disorders (SUD) and communicable diseases such as HIV through its Life Points harm reduction program.

Methods:

In 2021, the organization recruited a convenience sample of people who use drugs for a survey focused on substance use, healthcare, and barriers to SUD services. Community health workers conducted outreach and collected data using an encrypted identifier. Paper surveys were entered into Qualtrics for analysis...

Background

Since 1996, an urban community-based organisation whose primary mission is to serve diverse94 and emerging community health needs has provided screening, testing, overdose prevention and training, referrals, and access to treatment for substance use disorders (SUD) and communicable diseases such as HIV through its Life Points harm reduction program.

Methods

As a partner in a State survey in 2021, the community organisation recruited a convenience sample of people who use drugs to participate in a survey focused on their substance use, healthcare, and barriers to SUD services...

At the 10th International Conference on Health and Hepatitis in Substance Users, held in Glasgow, Scotland, international policymakers gathered to discuss the global overdose crisis and the role that supervised consumption sites can play in helping end these needless and preventable deaths.

The policy brief

A new policy brief is now available that summarises the day’s discussions and provides a starting point for those wanting to know more about supervised consumption rooms and their impact.

It includes:

• Evidence of success
• Global case studies
• Evaluation models 
• Implementation...

Integrating HIV-related care with treatment for substance use disorder provides an opportunity to better meet the needs of people living with these conditions. People with substance use disorder are rendered especially vulnerable by prevailing policies, structural inequalities, and stigmatisation.

In this Series paper, the authors analyse existing literature and empirical evidence from scoping reviews on integration designs for the treatment of HIV and substance use disorder, to understand barriers to and facilitators of care integration and to map ways forward.

They discuss how approaches...