Impacts of stigma on HIV risk for women who inject drugs in Java: A qualitative study

Saktiawati, Antonia Morita Iswari and Lazuardi, Elan and Subronto, Yanri Wijayanti and Padmawati, Retna Siwi (2015) Impacts of stigma on HIV risk for women who inject drugs in Java: A qualitative study. International Journal of Drug Policy, 26 (12). pp. 1244-1250. ISSN 09553959

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Abstract

Background: People who inject drugs have experienced stigma around the world. Stigma has been found to have negative consequences for individuals in relation to health-service use, psychological wellbeing and physical health; and for populations in terms of health inequalities. Indonesia has experienced a rapid growth in injecting drug use and HIV and little is known about drivers of HIV risk among Indonesian women who inject drugs. The purpose of this paper is to describe and consider the multiple impacts of stigmatization of injecting drug use on injecting behaviors among women who inject drugs in Java. Methods: In-depth interviews were conducted with 19 women who inject drugs in Java. Mean age was 25 years, all but one was employed or at college. The interviewers were Indonesian women. Results: Significant stigma around women's drug use was reported from multiple sources in Java including family, friends and health services, resulting in feelings of shame. To avoid this stigma, most of the study participants hid their drug use. They lived away from family and had few friends outside their drug-injecting circle, resulting in isolation from mainstream society and harm-reduction services. Sharing of injecting equipment was restricted to a small, closed circle of trusted friends, thus limiting possible HIV transmission to a small number of injectors. Conclusions: The stigmatization of drug use, particularly of drug use by women, in Indonesia appears to have contributed to significant shame, isolation from mainstream society and high rates of sharing injecting equipment with a small group of trusted friends (particularly the partner).

Item Type: Article
Uncontrolled Keywords: Gender; HIV; Indonesia; Injecting drug use; Stigma
Subjects: R Medicine > RM Therapeutics. Pharmacology
Divisions: Faculty of Medicine, Public Health and Nursing > Public Health and Nutrition
Depositing User: OKTAVIANA DWI P
Date Deposited: 09 Sep 2024 05:36
Last Modified: 09 Sep 2024 05:36
URI: https://ir.lib.ugm.ac.id/id/eprint/6728

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