This volume constitutes a commentary on Article 33 of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child.

This engaging and comprehensive book explores social work with problematic substance use. Anna Nelson offers social workers new insight on the subject, helping students to understand the issue as it affects service users across a range of social work practice settings. Written from both an anti-discriminatory and evidence-based perspective the text highlights successful responses to the issues surrounding problematic substance use, so that students and social workers can achieve best practice. Considering the effects of problematic substance use across a wide range of service-user groups, the book takes a reflective approach to this widely misunderstood area. Each chapter includes reflective exercises and examples of further reading challenging students to critically reflect on their practice, and increase their awareness in the area.

Female drug addicts are often stereotyped either as promiscuous, lazy, and selfish, or as weak, scared, and trapped into addiction. These depictions typify the "pathology and powerlessness" narrative that has historically characterized popular and academic conversations about female substance abusers. Neither Villain Nor Victim attempts to correct these polarizing perspectives by presenting a critical feminist analysis of the drug world. By shifting the discussion to one centered on women's agency and empowerment, this book reveals the complex experiences and social relationships of women addicts. Essays explore a range of topics, including the many ways that women negotiate the illicit drug world, how former drug addicts manage the more intimate aspects of their lives as they try to achieve abstinence, how women tend to use intervention resources more positively than their male counterparts, and how society can improve its response to female substance abusers by moving away from social controls (such as the criminalization of prostitution) and rehabilitative programs that have been shown to fail women in the long term. Advancing important new perspectives about the position of women in the drug world, this book is essential reading in courses on women and crime, feminist theory, and criminal justice.

Integrating gender into all aspects of drug policy, including the criminal justice system. In its efforts to place human rights at the heart of drug policies, the Pompidou Group has decided to pursue further the work already undertaken towards integrating a gender dimension into drug policy by developing a handbook covering different drug policy areas. It seeks to promote gender sensitivity in drug responses as essential leverage to reduce health inequities and to respect human rights, especially the rights to diversity and dignity for women, men and non-binary people. The publication begins with an overview of epidemiological evidence on gender-based differences in drug use and related consequences. The handbook aims at providing policy makers and practitioners in the drug field with evidence-based and operational recommendations to develop and implement policies and interventions that better integrate specific gender needs (gender-sensitive approach) and support more gender equity (gender-transformative approach) for people concerned with the provision of drug-related prevention and care (risk and harm reduction, treatment, reintegration), including in the criminal justice system. Faithful to the Pompidou Group’s objective of ensuring a link between research, policy and practice, this handbook first explores theoretical views about gender and drug policy, draws on available scientific knowledge and presents recommendations and examples for practice. It is based on extensive debate and a consensus of experts from 13 countries and various professional backgrounds, for cross-cultural relevance.

“Sex, Gender and Substance Use” describes how both biological and social factors affect people's use of substances. There is a lot of research carried out on substance use, prevention and treatment in which sex and gender are missing. This book describes the concepts of sex and gender, what they mean and why including them in substance use research, practice and policy is vital. Substances such as alcohol, drugs, nicotine, and tobacco all have differential effects on females and males. Social and cultural gendered factors affect how women and men react to prevention, treatment and policies. The book includes numerous examples of how sex- and gender-sensitive research can increase our understanding and improve prevention and treatment, and why striving for gender-transformative substance use practice and research remains a gold standard.

Gender, Crime and Victimisation is a thoughtful and thought-provoking book, exploring gender patterns in both offending and victimization. It offers a thorough examination of how these patterns in society are variously established and represented, researched, explained, and responded to by policy makers and criminal justice agencies. Bringing together key theory, research and policy developments, the book combines perspectives on the study of criminology with those of victimology and gender studies – drawing particularly on the influence of feminism. It analyses processes of criminalization and social control, and their structural biases. It explores fears, anxieties, and worries about crime, as well as particular vulnerabilities to crime.