Women participating in drug use environments and their status as victims of physical and sexual violence

Women who participate in marginalized drug environments are significantly more likely to become victims of physical violence and sexual assaults (Kronbæk et al. 2022; Deen et al. 2018). Marginalized drug environments are understood as physical and social environments where the exchange and consumption of drugs are the primary activities in the interaction between the people (Houborg et al. 2022; Boyd et al. 2018). In this presentation, we will describe the types of crimes that the women participate in marginalized drug environments are victims of. And identify the reasons why the women do not report these crimes and discuss how the everyday environment affects the women's agency?

The presentation is based on an ongoing research project that examines victims of physical violence and sexual assaults against women in drug environments. The empirical data consist of 32 qualitative interviews with women who have been subjected to violence or sexual abuse, 10 interviews with professionals from the legal and social services, and 80 reports on episodes of violence or sexual abuse against the women and the subsequent sequence. The reports are written by practitioners who work with the women.

Data shows that women are exposed to various types of violence: These include violence in personal relationships, violence related to drug sales and street life, as well as violence related to sex sales. The women, other drug users, and practitioners perceived violence and sexual assault largely as natural, thus making the extent invisible. The study indicates that women’s assessment of their safety in the drug environment is the most significant factor for their willingness to report crimes. The crimes are rarely reported, and we will discuss how the social dynamics in the drug environment contribute to the women’s decisions not to report the crimes. The dynamics relate to the women’s position in hierarchies of violence, their dependency on the perpetrator, and the moral code of the streets, which “outlaws snitching”.

In addition, the study shows structural barriers in women’s encounters with the legal system. It is demanding to claim the status of a victim in a court case, and many of the women do not have the necessary social and mental resources to fulfill these demands.
The barriers include organizational ones, including opening hours, procedures in relation to attendance, etc., as well as legal, such as requirements to adhere to the logic of the legal system in interrogations and behavior. Based on these findings, we discuss what opportunities women have to fulfill the legal system's demands and expectations of victims of crime. And how social work can strengthen the women's chances of using their rights as victims of violent and sexual crimes, protect women in the drug environment, and compensate for women's lack of resources in their encounter with the justice system.