UNITED NATIONS INTERNATIONAL DRUG CONTROL PROGRAMME
BULLETIN
ON
NARCOTICS
Volume XLVII, Nos. 1 and 2, 1995
Special issue on gender and drug abuse
UNITED NATIONS
UNITED NATIONS PUBLICATIONS
PREFACE
Future issues
Editorial policy and guidelines for publication
Reprints, purchases and subscriptions
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CONTENTS
GENDER IMPLICATIONS OF DRUG ABUSE
Pages: 1 to 10
Creation Date: 1995/01/01
New York, 1996
ISSN 0007-523X
The Bulletin on Narcotics is designed to provide information on developments in drug control at the local, national, regional and international levels that would benefit the international community. It is a United Nations publication that is available in Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Russian and Spanish.
Individuals and organizations are invited by the Editor to contribute articles to the Bulletindealing with policies, approaches, measures and developments (theoretical and/or practical) relating to various aspects of the drug control effort. Of particular interest are the results of research, studies and practical experience that would provide useful information for policy makers, practitioners and experts, as well as the public at large.
A special volume combining numbers 1 and 2 for 1996 will be devoted to the theme of rapid assessment for drug abuse.
All manuscripts submitted for publication in the Bulletinshould constitute original and scholarly work that has not been published elsewhere or is not being submitted simultaneously for publication elsewhere. The work should be of a relatively high professional calibre in order to meet the requirements of a United Nations technical publication. Contributors are kindly asked to exercise discretion in the content of manuscripts so as to exclude any critical judgement of a particular national or regional situation.
The preferred mode of transmission of manuscripts is in WordPerfect format (DOS). Each submitted manuscript should consist of an original hard copy and a 3.5" diskette, in WordPerfect (5.1 preferred) for the text and Excel or Lotus for charts and tables, in any of the six official languages of the United Nations. The manuscript should be accompanied by an abstract of approximately 200 words and by a complete set of references numbered in the order of their appearance in the text. The manuscript should be between 10 and 20 double-spaced typewritten pages, including tables, figures and references. Tables should be self-explanatory and should supplement, not duplicate, information provided in the text.
Manuscripts, together with brief curricula vitae of their authors, should be addressed to the Editor, Bulletin on Narcotics, United Nations International Drug Control Programme, P.O. Box 500, A-1400 Vienna, Austria. A transmittal letter should designate one author as correspondent and include his or her complete address, telephone number and, if available, telex or facsimile number. Unpublished manuscripts will be returned to the authors; however, the United Nations cannot be held responsible for loss.
Views expressed in signed articles published in the Bulletinare those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect those of the United Nations Secretariat. The designations employed and the presentation of the material in this publication do not imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever on the part of the Secretariat concerning the legal status of any country, territory, city or area, or its authorities, or concerning the delimitation of any frontiers or boundaries.
Material published in the Bulletinis the property of the United Nations and enjoys copyright protection in accordance with the provisions of Protocol 2 annexed to the Universal Copyright Convention concerning the application of that Convention to the works of certain international organizations.
The following special issues of the Bulletinare available as United Nations publications:
Scientific developments relating to detection techniques for the control of drugs (vol. 37, No. 1)
Drugs and youth: double issue devoted to the International Youth Year, 1985 (vol. 37, Nos. 2 and 3)
Cannabis (vol. 37, No. 4)
Nature and extent of drug abuse problems and social responses: double issue (vol. 38, Nos. I and 2)
Regional and interregional responses to the drug abuse phenomenon (vol. 39, No. 1)
The prevention and reduction of the illicit demand for drugs (vol. 39, No. 2)
Treatment, rehabilitation and social reintegration of drug-dependent persons (vol. 40, No. 1)
Drug abuse assessment: double issue (vol. 41, Nos. 1 and 2)
Emerging directions and trends in drug abuse control (vol. 42, No. 1)
Involvement of intergovernmental and non-governmental organizations in matters of drug abuse control (vol. 43, No. 1)
The role of law enforcement agencies in drug abuse control (vol. 44, No. 1)
The environmental impact of drug abuse (vol. 44, No. 2)
Policy issues relating to drug abuse and the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) (vol. 45, No. 1)
Drug testing in the workplace (vol. 45, No. 2)
The family and drug abuse (vol. 46, No. 1)
Requests for permission to reprint signed material should be addressed to the Secretary of the Publications Board, United Nations, New York, New York 10017.
Correspondence regarding the purchase of copies of and subscriptions to the Bulletinshould be addressed as follows:
For Asia, North America, Oceania and South America:
The Chief
Sales Section
United Nations Headquarters
New York, New York 10017
United States of America
For Africa, Europe and the Middle East:
The Chief
Distribution and Sales Section
United Nations Office at Geneva
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Page
Preface iii
Editorial note ix
Call for papers xi
Towards a gender-sensitive approach to drug demand reduction: a process within the United Nations system by L-N. Hsu and J. du Guerny 1
A woman's leadership in mobilizing an Indian community for drug control by K Bedi 15
The challenge for women with a drug-abusing family member: the
Jamaican perspective by K Boyce-Reid 23
The cultural and social consequences and effect on families of women's involvement in drug trafficking in Cameroon: crime and imprisonment by J Nouthe-Djubgang, J M. Malonga and,4. Idole Mekounde 31
Editorial note
This special issue of the Bulletin on Narcotics is devoted to a gender perspective on drug abuse. It was originally planned as the first issue of 1996. A double issue on drug policy, intended for 1995, could, however, not be produced. This issue therefore replaces it as volume XLVII, Nos. 1 and 2 of 1995.
The United Nations International Drug Control Programme (UNDCP), as a follow-up to the Fourth World Conference on Women: Action for Equality, Development and Peace, held at Beijing in September 1995, is making special efforts to integrate the gender perspective into its mandated functions through collaboration with Member States and non-governmental organizations and within the United Nations family.
UNDCP has formed an internal gender working group, composed of representatives from its operational and technical sections, to facilitate gender integration. Through the Administrative Committee on Coordination, UNDCP has prepared a United Nations System-Wide Plan of Action on Drug Abuse Control, with a component on Women and Drug Abuse. This Plan will serve as a blueprint for participating United Nations entities in the medium term (1996-2001) in the joint efforts towards integrating gender concerns into drug control.
The first article of the present issue provides the global context from the perspective of the United Nations. The second article provides an example of a policewoman's leadership in demand reduction in India. The third article describes some of the many implications of the impact of drug abuse on women in Jamaica. The fourth article describes the drug abuse phenomenon among women in Cameroon. Despite consistent efforts, articles solicited from Europe and Latin America could not be prepared in time to meet publication deadlines.
The difficulties encountered in receiving appropriate articles in this field is not surprising since insufficient resources and attention have been given to the gender dimension of drug-abuse-related research. UNDCP has thus established a special research award to promote an improvement in scientific studies in the area of gender and drug abuse. An announcement calling for scientific papers is attached to this issue and readers are encouraged to assist UNDCP in identifying potential candidates for this award.
Focal Point on Women for UNDCP
Call for papers
The United Nations International Drug Control Programme (UNDCP) and the Special Programme for Research and Training in Tropical Diseases (TDR) of the World Health Organization are jointly sponsoring a research initiative on the subject of "Gender implications of drug abuse". Three prizes, of US$ 2,500, $1,500 and $1,000, are to be awarded to the author(s) of the three best papers submitted on this subject. All the papers submitted will be evaluated by a Task Force comprised of staff members of both UNDCP and TDR, in January 1997. The winners will be announced in March 1997.
The term "gender", as distinct from the term "sex", refers to the sociocultural aspects of the male-female dichotomy, whereas sex denotes its biological basis. Gender refers to qualities, types of behaviour and roles ascribed by different societies to women and men.
The subject "Gender implications of drug abuse" encompasses a broad range of concerns. These include prevention, early intervention, treatment, relapse prevention and social reintegration.
The main topics to be addressed in the papers are the gender implications of:
Strategies for prevention and treatment (e.g. communications strategies; successful approaches to dealing with women at risk);
Causes (e.g. peer pressure; psychosocial factors);
Consequences (e.g. health consequences of drug abuse for pregnant women; violence);
Women in marginalized groups (e.g. prostitution; drug trafficking; minorities).
These examples are meant for illustration only and are not intended to be an exhaustive list.
The ideal paper is one that fully meets the criteria described in this announcement, i.e. one that contributes new and useful knowledge on gender analysis and drug abuse. Papers may include case-studies and/or original research based on qualitative or quantitative data, with a gender analysis of the findings. The competition is open to all those who have exciting new contributions to make in this area. Papers by women from developing countries, and papers based on research conducted with the participation of women, are particularly welcome.
The papers-in English, French or Spanish -may be based on either secondary sources or original research, and should have practical implications for combating the problem of drug abuse. They must be original, i.e. not published elsewhere, and where possible, offer a critical review of current knowledge on the chosen topic.
They may be authored by one or more persons. Authors are responsible for obtaining any necessary clearance for participation in this competition.
Manuscripts should not exceed 30 typewritten, double-spaced (A4) pages, including tables, figures and references, and should begin with a short summary in English. They must reach the following address by 15 January 1997:
Focal Point on Women for UNDCP
United Nations International Drug Control Programme
Vienna International Centre
P.O. Box 500
A-1400 Vienna (Austria)
Telephone: (+43) 1-21345-5284
Fax: (+43) 1-21345-5827 or (+43) 1-21345-5866
It would be helpful if authors planning to submit a paper could inform the Focal Point on Women for UNDCP well in advance of the deadline. Arrangements for publishing the winning paper and possibly others selected for their high quality will be explored. Prizes may not be awarded if the entries are not of a sufficiently high standard or the above-mentioned criteria have not been met.
001p000* Year in which the number of issues published was reduced due to financial constraints.
002p000* Year in which the number of issues published was reduced due to financial constraints.
003p000* Year in which the number of issues published was reduced due to financial constraints.