In February 2010, TSU contracted an analytical paper on gender integration within harm reduction programming in HAARP countries. The consultant undertook an extensive literature review, and travelled to both Myanmar and China to witness first hand the delivery of HAARP services to female injecting drug users (IDUs), intimate partners of male IDUs and female sex workers. Examples of positive practice in gender sensitive programming were noted in Myanmar, Cambodia and China.
In China, one particular site in Wuzhou (Guangxi Province) has achieved significant progress in reaching female IDUs. Of the total number of IDUs who received harm reduction services in this location the second half of 2009, over 27% were women.
The review found that the HAARP staff in Wuzhou had gradually built up the number of female clients since 2004 by committing to a number of core and gender responsive approaches, including:
- Placing emphasis on the need to build trust and understanding with female clients over time;
- Offering non-fixed site distribution and flexible hours of service;
- Recognising the lived experience and value of peer to peer support through former female injecting drug users;
- Taking a partnership approach with community through the Community Committee’s – this increases access to services for clients and fosters a more enabling environment in which uninterrupted services can be provided;
- and Working with legal authorities to increase understanding of harm understanding and support/acceptance of the program.
The review also raised key issues surrounding young children and the implications for access to services for women; and the often overlapping issues around incarceration and sexual violence in compulsory treatment centres across the region. |