Substance Use Disorders & Violence Against Women

By Maria de los Angeles Lobos Palacios, Psychologist (University of Chile). Dianova Outpatient Treatment Centre Director, Viña del Mar

March against Femicide in Chile

Within mental health disorders, the problem of drug consumption has become more visible in recent years in the female population. It is a complex and multi-causal phenomenon, and tends to be interlaced with other problems of a psychosocial nature. Of the 54 women treated in 2016 at the Dianova Centre for Outpatient Treatment in Viña del Mar, 83% had a history of intrafamily violence and/or sexual abuse[1] (Treatment Information Management System, SISTRAT, 2016).

The aim of this article is to highlight the close relationship between substance use disorders (SUD) and violence against women (VAW), as well as the ways in which both phenomena are interlinked, from a gender perspective.  Presenting from a gender perspective allows us to report on the effects of gender socialization which involves identifying the specific problems that afflict women who attend our centres and the effects of having been socialized as such, including the impact on their consumption path (motivations, relapse processes, consumption patterns, etc.)

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