Recovery Plus: reclaiming lives
16 April/May 2017 Time for our world
to face addiction
In England alone, 2.5million women are suffering
from an alcohol use disorder and over 125million
women were admitted to residential, outpatient,
and hospitals due to substance use. The
Norwegian Institute of Public Health surveyed
7,905 women from 11 European Countries and
found that, despite recommendations to abstain
from alcohol during pregnancy, 28.5% pregnant
women in the UK drink alcohol.
According to the World Health Organisation
and the United Nations Office on Drugs and
Crime, the grim reality is that 240million people
around the world are dependent on alcohol,
over 1billion people smoke, and about 15million
people use injection drugs, such a heroin. These
women are our mothers, daughters, sisters,
aunts, nieces, and best friends. They do not
dream of becoming an addict as little girls – they
dream of becoming doctors, lawyers, educators,
artists, and standup citizens in our society.
It is time to face addiction head on and start
focusing on our women and children. This is
the only way to break the generational cycle of
this disease. We must wake up and realise that
this disease knows no time of year, no social or
economic background, no race, no culture, and
no boundaries. It sweeps entire populations.
Our world is facing an epidemic, an opioid
epidemic of unparalleled proportion. And it’s
not only opioids; it’s not only an overdose
epidemic. It’s a substance use disorder epidemic
affecting millions of men, women and children.
So, why are we in an epidemic? According to
the European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and
Drug addiction, there over 2,500 specialised
drug treatment facilities in the UK that provide
counselling, behavioural therapy, medication,
case management, and other types of services
to people with substance use disorders. Recovery
Plus note: we would critique that not even 5% of
that figure offers effective treatment.
There’s no reason why every street around the
world can’t take care of its neighbours. We
have the smarts. We have the wherewithal to
provide the best care for everyone, regardless
of socioeconomic status, education, race,
or criminal background. We have the right
healthcare professionals - holistic, traditional,
integrated, Eastern, Western. All we need is
a bridging of the gaps where, as medical and
clinical, black and white, we unite, willing to hear
all sides and not be so attached to any one idea
being the best. And this starts with our women.
The epidemic of chemical dependency in women,
pregnant women, and women with children has
overwhelmed the world's systems of hospitals,
schools, social service agencies, child protective
services, law enforcement, and domestic
violence, to name a few. Every day, millions of
our children experience substance use disorder
in the family. Also, addicted females have 5.4 live
births in their lifetime; and of those pregnancies,
2% of babies are born each year with birth
defects related to substance-use inpregnancy. It
is thought 2-5% of school children are affected.
In Italy, foetal alcohol syndrome is thought to
happen in up to 62 in every 1,000 births. In parts
of South Africa, it can be as often as 89 in every
1,000 births according to London Health.
By the end of this
presentation at
Recovery Plus 2017,
delegates will be able to:
1) list statistics on drug
and alcohol use, in
women and men
2) explain how
women's needs and
requirements differ
from men's when it
comes to treatment
and recovery
3) identify best
practice and the most
effective therapeutic
approaches for longterm
successful
outcomes.
