Female Related Substance Abuse Treatment and Recovery Services in Sri Lanka; Case Study on Drug Addicted Female Service Users in Recovery; Colombo District
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Date
2019
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Uva Wellassa University of Sri Lanka
Abstract
By today substance abuse is recognized as a crucial problem which creates many serious effects on health and social relationships of human beings. Even though many psychoactive substances are known to be commonly spread among men lately a considerable number of women also found in substance abuse. According to the annual hand book of National Dangerous Drugs Control Board on drug abuse information (2016) a considerable number of women were arrested due to drug related crimes such as drug peddling and transporting. The female drug users are a group who need special attention and effective treatment intervention as they are more vulnerable to social hazards associated with drug addiction. The main objective of this study is to analyze the impact of institutionalized recovery process on drug addicted female service users in contemporary urban Sri Lanka using a sociological and a social work perspective to understand gender specific needs within the drug addiction recovery process. The research field was a drug rehabilitation center and an outreach programme carried out in the Colombo district. This study mainly provides a discussion on drug abuse treatment and recovery services related to female drug users based on ten services users. Case study method and in-depth interview methods were used for data collection. The main argument discussed in this study is that a complicated issue like drug addiction is not merely an individual fault but a result of many social and economic factors. It is vital that treatment and recovery related to women are designed to cater for the special needs of the female service users. Especially stereo type gender responsibilities of women may prevent service users from entering and maintaining the recovery process. Furthermore, the discrimination and the social stigma within the treatment and recovery itself may prevent service users from entering the treatment and recovery. This study also tries to highlight the fact that there is also a need for Psycho-Social approach within the treatment and recovery.
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Gender Study, Social Science, Education