Although women and girls account for one-third of the world’s drug users, only one in five recipients of treatment for drug use is female. Women who take drugs are often stigmatized and discriminated. The past 15 years have seen a major increase in the number of women arrested for drug related offences. It must be noted that when women are imprisoned, their family life is often greatly disrupted. Sipp added that all over the world drug-dependent women are estranged from their families and ostracized from their communities and are left without any support.

Source: The Nation March 17, 2017 19:41 UTC