women

Women’s voices — experiences and perceptions of women facing drug problems

Epidemiological studies routinely collect quantitative data on gender differences in drug use (e.g. prevalence, mortality), but far less is published on the qualitative aspects of female drug problems. This review presents quotations gleaned from interviews with women in eight countries. Through these testimonies, the report illustrates how qualitative research can provide glimpses into the experiences and perceptions of women facing drug issues that statistics alone cannot provide.

Whole woman: essential information for mums

A small booklet designed primarily for women, although it recognises that men experience domestic violence too. It acknowledges women's fears and encourages them to seek help for themselves and their children. It helps women to understand the impact of domestic violence on their children and encourages them to move on from a position of feeling powerless to being able to take action to improve the situation.

Prevalence and structural correlates of gender based violence among a prospective cohort of female sex workers

This study examined the prevalence and structural correlates of gender based violence against female sex workers in an environment of criminalised prostitution in Canada. The results demonstrate an alarming prevalence of gender based violence against female sex workers. The structural factors of criminalisation, homelessness, and poor availability of drug treatment independently correlated with gender based violence against street based female sex workers.

The Scottish Independent Advocacy Alliance newsletter September 2005

The Scottish Independent Advocacy Alliance (SIAA) promotes, supports and defends the principles and practice of independent advocacy across Scotland. This newsletter provides an update on the progress of the SIAA and includes information about the Adults with Incapacity (Scotland) Act 2000, as well as the International Initiative for Mental Health Leadership Exchange, which looked at advocacy, recovery and peer support. There are also details about a forensic mental health initiative which develops services for Mentally Disordered Offenders.

Domestic violence (Radio 4 series: Woman's Hour)

This episode of Radio 4's Woman's Hour series looks at whether domestic violence is a gender issue. The most recent British Crime Survey shows that one in four women and one in six men have suffered domestic violence at some point in their lives. As part of Domestic Violence Awareness Week, Woman's Hour looks at the statistics and asks how helpful it is to think about domestic violence as either a male or female problem.

Prohibition of Female Genital Mutilation (Scotland) Act 2005

Female genital mutilation (FGM) involves procedures which include the partial or total removal of the external female genital organs for cultural or other non-therapeutic reasons. FGM has been a specific criminal offence in the UK since the passage of the Prohibition of Female Circumcision Act 1985. In England, Wales and Northern Ireland, the Female Genital Mutilation Act 2003 repealed and re-enacted the provisions of the 1985 Act, gave them extra-territorial effect and increased the maximum penalty for FGM.

Finding strength from within: report on three local projects looking at mental health and recovery with people from some of the black and minority ethnic communities in Edinburgh

This exploratory community development project gathered the experiences around recovery of people using mental health services who come from some of the black and minority ethnic (BME) communities in Edinburgh. The project involved around 50 people from BME communities. The work with each of the three smaller projects was designed around the circumstances of that service and the ways in which those participants or service users wished to take part. This took place between December 2007 and May 2008.

Poverty pathways: ethnic minority women's livelihoods

Ethnic minority women are amongst the poorest and most socially excluded people in the UK. Yet very little is known about their lives, or how to lift them out of poverty. The report outlines 7 key policy traps and the steps needed to get things right. It looks at household dynamics, moving beyond paid employment as a panacea for poverty, and how women’s lives change over their lifetimes. It shows how ethnic minority women need to be brought back into the policy picture if their poverty is to ever be addressed.