Pubdate: Fri, 16 Jul 2004
Source: Victoria News (CN BC)
Copyright: 2004 Victoria News
Contact:  http://www.vicnews.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1267
Author:  Mark Browne
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/women.htm (Women)

DRUG STIGMA HARDEST ON WOMEN, SAYS BOOK BY UVIC PROFESSOR

Women have been getting a particularly bad deal in the war on drugs, 
according to a new book by a University of Victoria professor.

Susan Boyd's From Witches to Crack Moms is a call for the end to the war on 
drugs which emphasises on the impact it has historically had on women.

The drug policy researcher and professor in UVic's human and social 
development faculty looked at where women fit in various drug wars 
throughout history while writing her latest book. Much of the book's focus 
is on whether men were seen different than women in the different drug wars.

"So I started tracing back different drug scares historically and saw that, 
in Western culture, witch hunts were like drug scares," Boyd said.

The witch hunts that occurred between the 15th and 18th centuries were 
considered drug scares partially because the witches were persecuted for 
the herbs they used for women who were pregnant, she pointed out.

"They were seen as pagans," Boyd said.

During the period of the witch hunts, 85 per cent of those executed were 
women, she said.

"So that was the first incident of a drug scare that I could find that had 
widespread, that had significance to women," Boyd said.

A high rate of persecution for women in drug wars is a pattern that 
continues to this very day, she said.

As it stands, about 14 per cent of all drug charges in Canada are against 
women.

However, the percentage of women serving time in prison for drug-related 
offences is higher than for men.

In 2004, 30 per cent of women serving time in federal prisons have been 
convicted of drug-related charges. In contrast, 15 per cent of men doing 
time in federal correctional facilities are serving sentences for drug 
offences, Boyd said.

That pattern is consistent with what is happening in the U.S. and Great 
Britain, she said.

"So it seems that when a women comes up through the criminal justice system 
and she's charged with a drug offence, judges are harsher in their 
punishment," Boyd said.

While the percentage of women arrested for drugs hasn't changed over the 
years, judges are more likely to send women to prison than they would have 
in the past, she said.

When Boyd delved into why more women are serving time in prison for drug 
offences in Canada, Great Britain and the U.S., she concluded that there 
has been a backlash against women - especially single parents.

"Drug-using mothers aren't only seen as breaking the law but they're seen 
as breaking gender role expectations of them," Boyd said.

The vast majority of people - both men and women - serving time for drug 
offences come from lower income backgrounds, she said. And that raises the 
question about what the war on drugs is supposed to be achieving, Boyd said.

"Why spend all those resources criminalizing people when we might look at 
this differently," she said.

 From Witches to Crack Moms is available at the UVic book store.
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