Men control more but know less
Research has shown that women are have a greater risk of blood-borne viruses such as hepatitis C and HIV, as the person who holds the drugs holds the power, therefore having the right to inject first, and the person with the power is usually the man (Marsh and Loxley :1994: 82). Research conducted by QuIVAA several years ago also found that men are often in control of women’s drug use.
This sometimes related to a lack of contacts to dealers, but most commonly was associated with male partners controlling the buying and the mixing up. Disturbingly, women often commented upon men’s lack of knowledge in relation to hep C and HIV, as well as unevenly dividing the mix. Yes you read correctly, research has now proven men can be greedy when it comes to drugs!
Women more likely to share
Sharing fits and injecting equipment (tourniquets, spoons and filters) is a major risk for contracting hep C. However women are more likely to share injecting equipment. Research asking people for reasons why they share, found that women think of sharing as social and relate it to situations such as sharing with a lover; men’s reasons for sharing relate to being intoxicated, ‘hanging out’ or caring less about potential dangers and report using alone more often, while women tend to use in groups, and the younger the woman is, the more people who are likely to have used the syringe before them (Marsh and Loxley: 1994: 88 & 82).
The research at QuIVAA had similar findings when it came to why people share. Women commented upon sharing ‘with partners’ as a form of intimacy, as part of the relationship. Women often assumed that because they were sexual partners, they had ‘shared everything already’, despite the fact that hep C is only transmitted by blood-to-blood contact and not considered a sexually transmitted infection. While some men did share with partners, they associated it with not having enough fits, rather than intimacy.
Women handle withdrawals better
When it came to men and women hanging out on heroin, women without a doubt were able to better manage their withdrawal (and not generally take it out on everyone around them). Men became very angry or stressed without heroin and often ‘did anything to get it’. Women were more likely to use pills or pot to manage or distract themselves from thinking about drugs. Women were often the ones left to manage both their own and their male partner’s emotional stress, and were often expected to carry on, while men generally indicated they either got angry or sulked in their rooms. This is where you act surprised like you didn’t already know this!
Crime to support habits
When it came to involvement in crime, men and women were markedly different. The majority of women had never been arrested (despite having engaged in drug use and often dealing, sex work and some opportunistic theft). Only two women identified having posession charges. More commonly, women used legal means to access drugs (work pay) or used the sex industry or partnerships with men who had access to drugs. Men, in contrast, often used illegal means to access drugs and had a high level of police contact, and some men had served lengthy prison sentences. Charges varied with importing, trafficking, break and enter, armed robberies, grievous bodily harm, ‘fail to appears’, shoplifting and possession.
Women have better contacts
The way in which men and women bought their gear was also quite different. When buying heroin, men used a variety of sources and liked to keep many contacts, who they considered to be simply ‘someone to buy from or acquaintances’ preferring ‘big dealers’ whom they often commented upon having problems with relating to violence.
Women, on the other hand, often had one regular dealer, particularly bought from a woman at her home, who was a person they valued as a friend, and whose opinion they felt they could trust if the gear was strong or badly cut. This places women at an advantage when buying, for they are less likely to get ripped off by a street dealer or business dealer, and are less likely to be seen by police when scoring in public and are exposed to a lower level of violence.
Take control
So while women may be taking unnecessary risks when it comes to sharing equipment and letting others mix up for them (especially partners), they are controlling risk when it comes to police contact and buying from a stable, safe source and therefore having a good understanding of exactly what they are buying. So no matter how much you may love someone, stay safe, take control of your drug use and have control of your health and your life.
Jodie Walton 2004
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