This stigma not only affects a woman’s willingness to seek help but also shapes the availability and type of support offered to her. Several articles explored how societal expectations of women’smorality (6; 17%) 41,43,59,65,68,73, cleanliness and attractiveness (3; 9%)41,45,48, and roles as mothers (8; 23%) 44,4553,60,65,68,69,73, shapedexperiences of drug use-related stigma for WWUD. These studies described how druguse-related stigma can be amplified for WWUD due to the higher moral standardssociety has for women compared to men. As such, drug use by women is seen as aviolation of these moral expectations and results in the greater stigmatization ofWWUD. Barriers that impact recovery can include stigma and shame, lack of social support, financial difficulties, mental health issues, and the availability of treatment options.

• Examining how biology interacts with substance use can clarify why men and women sometimes follow distinct pathways to addiction.
• Lastly, women face societal expectations surrounding motherhood, andstudies reported that drug use was perceived to be a transgression that impededWWUD’s ability to be “good” mothers, especially when childrenwere removed from their care.
• This can discourage a woman from seeking treatment, putting them at risk of developing health complications like heart disease or some cancers.

Managing Stigma: Women Drug Users and Recovery Services

Furthermore, societal expectations often place women in roles where they must maintain a facade of strength and perfection, leading many to hide their substance abuse until the problem becomes severe. This only underscores the urgent need for comprehensive understanding and targeted approaches to address the unique challenges that women face in their battle against addiction. Substance use disorders among women are characterized by diverse substance preferences, with alcohol and prescription drugs featuring prominently. Moreover, women may be more susceptible to addiction due to physiological, social, and psychological factors that influence their drug use.

Habits for Proper Mental Health

Studying women’s issues in substance abuse is crucial because women often face unique challenges and barriers that men might not, such as higher rates of trauma, caregiver responsibilities, and societal stigma, all making it harder for them to get and stick with treatment. Also, according to Akré et al. (2021), addressing the social needs (such as food, clothing, safety, and housing) of women who use drugs can support better access to healthcare services. Therefore, these are further important indications for policymakers responsible for accessing why do women face more stigma for substance addiction and developing medical and social care for women suffering from substance abuse 35. The Recovery Village aims to improve the quality of life for people struggling with substance use or mental health disorder with fact-based content about the nature of behavioral health conditions, treatment options and their related outcomes.

Medical Disclaimer

We included a detailed description regarding the selected publications (authors, year of publication, scope of study, sample size, and results) in the table in the supplementary materials. Only a tiny percentage of women and men who try any psychoactive substance will develop an addiction 7, but the problems experienced by women drug abusers are a consequence of fundamental differences in this group compared to men. These relate to the reasons for reaching for drugs, the greater vulnerability to developing an addiction, the complex difficulties of recovery, and the greater risk of relapse.

The greater stigmatization of female drug users presents several barriers for women when they try to get their lives back to “normal,” often without sufficient support, resources, or guidance. Luck, Elifson, and Sterk (2004) found that women who are drug users and are on the welfare system are perceived negatively by others. There are many people who believe that women who use drugs and receive the welfare system are “undeserving poor,” and some people in society may believe that the welfare system is funding the dependence on drugs. There are also speculations that the use of drugs leads individuals to welfare dependence, but the authors show that this is a more complex relationship than assumed. Although women in the welfare system are willing to take responsibility of their lives, the negative views from society make them feel disrespected and reinforces feelings of powerlessness. First, onlyarticles published in English were included based on language limitations among thestudy team.

Many researchers believe that psychological distress and low self-esteem influence the use of psychoactive substances 69. Women who use these substances, in addition to temporarily raising their self-esteem, “enter” their social reality in which they feel good. By using drugs, they find a sense of self-esteem, strive to perform tasks, and achieve goals they believe society sets for them. For them, drug use is a way to cope with feelings of stigma or disrespect for a short time, superficially boosting their self-esteem 17.

Gender-Specific Therapy Options

The services needed are not as accessible as many think due to the stigmatization of those who apply for aid. Boeri, Tyndall, and Woodall (2011) show how the barriers to services that women need to help themselves improve their lives can be a reason why women use or continue to use drugs. Their study found that many of the women who are addicted to methamphetamine are willing to seek help, but barriers preventing the women from moving forward create a cycle of defeat. For example, the lack of identification (e.g., ID card) created barriers getting into shelters, being homeless created a barrier to obtaining an ID card, and without identification, these women were unable to apply for the programs that could help them. When social services turned them down because they did not meet all the eligibility criteria, the women found it more difficult to meet social expectations without access to the needed resources (Boeri, 2013). Every person in our society can play a role in reducing stigma and discrimination against people with substance use disorders—from health professionals and addiction researchers to the general public and those directly affected by drug and alcohol problems.

Additionally, the lack of a consensus on the definition ofstigma in the extant literature (Kulesza et al.,2013), the heterogeneity of stigma measures, and the omission of samplecharacteristics limits the robustness of the systematic review’s findings andmade undertaking a meta-analysis impractical (Leibovici & Falagas, 2009). However, this review exposed theseexisting gaps and inconsistencies in the scientific literature, providing animportant foundation for future research on intersectional gender- and druguse-related stigma. In an effort to protect against bias, inclusion and exclusioncriteria were determined prior to analyses, and coding was implemented by twoindependent raters screening all articles for inclusion (SAM, BD) and scoring thestudy quality of all included articles (SAM, NC) (Mueller et al., 2018). To guard against bias introduced by individualresearchers in the interpretation of the qualitative synthesis, all themes and codeswere developed iteratively and agreed upon by two social scientists with previousqualitative research experience (SAM, LRS).

It is, therefore, vital to provide training for healthcare professionals to become competent in providing services to women who abuse drugs 21, as well as in respecting human rights and medical ethics 28. Unfortunately, some authors report a lack of adequate funding to meet the indicated needs 21,36,39. This can discourage a woman from seeking treatment, putting them at risk of developing health complications like heart disease or some cancers. Yet the biological, social, and cultural nuances that differentiate their experiences demand thoughtful, gender-responsive approaches.

These differences are likely the result of gender-specific biological mechanisms interacting with sociocultural influences and life stressors that affect women and men differently 9. Data from some studies underscore the importance of sex hormones in modulating drug effects in women 11. In addition, women transition from substance abuse to addiction much more frequently and quickly than men; they are more likely to self-medicate with illicit substances; they are more susceptible to the health consequences of substance abuse, overdosing, and they experience relapse more often than men 7,12. As such,the investigators determined it was inappropriate to recruit a woman-only focusgroup in this context, thereby missing valuable information from a keysub-population of PWUD (Razani et al.,2007). Despite this anomalous account, however, most of the included articlesobserved ways in which WWUD are differentially impacted by drug use-relatedstigma.

• Creating such spaces can provide a sense of empowerment and solidarity, crucial for the success of any treatment and recovery program.
• The women who shared their stories were mostly poor or working-class white women living precariously on the edge of suburban middle-class society.
• See the SupplementalTable for a full list of narratives corresponding to each descriptivetheme.
• Our study aimed to identify and analyze the most frequently indicated difficulties encountered by women who abuse psychoactive substances (other than alcohol) due to sociocultural conditions and other difficulties experienced when trying to undertake treatment, during, and after treatment.

Studies consistently indicate that societal expectations, such as balancing work, family, and personal responsibilities, can create a fertile ground for substance misuse as a coping mechanism. Treating addiction disorders is tough because it’s not just about stopping drug or alcohol use; it involves tackling mental health issues, social factors like family problems, financial stress, and even legal troubles. In short, understanding women’s unique challenges in addiction paints a vivid picture of why tailored approaches are crucial.

For example, women who do not use drugs may hold more negative views,and be less tolerant of, drug misuse compared to men (Kauffman et al., 1997; Mundon et al.,2016). Intersectional stigma placesWWUD at greater risk of injection-related harms like HIV and hepatitis C (HCV) (Iverson et al., 2015). Additionally, WWUD experiencehigh rates of violence from intimate partners, strangers, and acquaintances which hasbeen linked to harm reduction service avoidance, HIV-, and HCV-related risk behaviorsfor this population (Iverson et al., 2015).

Although Tammy described her program as more effective than others, she had the advantage of being offered an expensive residential treatment program with psychiatrists who treated her underlying causes of drug use. Many of the other women could not access such resources, and some were told that as “former drug users” they could not use any psychotropic medication. This analysis reveals that their perceived or actual social situation prevented some women from feeling valued. Beyond increasing self-esteem, when the women use drugs they enter their own social reality where things get done and they feel better. They find value in themselves as they accomplish tasks and achieve goals that they believe society has set for them. Ironically, using drugs was a way for them to deal with feelings of being stigmatized, abused, or not valued, superficially raising their self-esteem for a time—until they are exposed as a drug user.

Katy was criticized for not being thin as she had been when she was using methamphetamine regularly. It was difficult for Katy to stay drug-free when her mother kept bringing up the positive aspect of her drug use, in this case weight management. Their stories revealed the dilemma of using drugs to feel normal or cope with stigma, stigmatized for being a drug user, and criticized when they stopped using drugs for not meeting the standards set by society for women.