Abstract
The aim of this study was to describe the prevalence of physical and/
or sexual violence experienced by women who inject drugs (WWID)
and identify associated factors. A cross-sectional study was conducted
among 120 WWID in a network of harm reduction centres using an
anonymous questionnaire. Oral fluid samples were also collected
to estimate the prevalence of HIV and hepatitis C. Univariate and
multivariate Poisson regression models with robust variance were
performed to identify the factors associated with experiencing
violence, obtaining prevalence ratios (PR) and their 95% confidence
intervals. The results showed that the prevalence of violence reported
by WWID in the last 12 months was 45.8% (42.2% physical and 11.9%
sexual aggression). In multivariate analysis, variables associated with
experiencing violence were homelessness (PR = 1.59; CI: 1.07-2.38),
reporting exchanges of sex for money or drugs (PR = 1.65; CI: 1.19-
2.29), reporting a previous sexually transmitted infection (PR =
1.49; CI: 1.04-2.15) and/or injecting drugs less frequently than daily
(RP = 2.29; CI: 1.49-3.54). This study highlights the importance of
establishing detection protocols and systems of referral to the network
of attention to women suffering violence, within the centres of the
drug addiction care network, as well as the development of multilevel
strategies that take into account not only individual factors but also
other social and/or structural aspects that may be playing a relevant
role in addressing this problem.
Keywords
Hepatitis C; Women; Drugs; Violence
Bibliographic citation
Folch C, Casabona J, Majó X, Meroño M, González V, Colom J, et al. Mujeres que usan drogas inyectadas y violencia: necesidad de una respuesta integrada. Adicciones. 2021 Nov 5;33(4):299-306.
Audience
Professionals
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