"There are marked differences between
men, women, and gender-diverse people in
terms of their drug use and how laws and
policies affect them. Women and genderdiverse people who use drugs are affected
differently than men by stigma, colonialism,
racism, homophobia, transphobia, poverty,
housing insecurity, and violence. Women and
gender-diverse people who use drugs may
also have specific needs in relation pregnancy
and parenting and face unique mental health
challenges. However, insufficient attention
is paid to the needs of women and genderdiverse people who use drugs and their
access to health services, including harm
reduction services. This is especially true
for gender-diverse people who use drugs,
for whom there is a troubling lack of data.
Consequently, they face additional barriers
to harm reduction and other health services
and are at increased risk of HIV and hepatitis
C virus (HCV) infection, as well as other
injection-related harm."


