They had multiple physical and mental health problems needing treatment. Eighty-one percent had suffered abuse including domestic violence and rape as children or adults or both. For 65 percent of the women, jail was the first place they received drug treatment and the first time the abuse they survived got attention. We must recognize and address the connection between violence against women and drug use. Women and girls self-medicate in response to the violence.
Abuse is a major trigger for relapse.
Further, many women convicted of a drug offense are not themselves users. They often take the rap for their male partner, who may be abusing them. Still other women get bad legal advice and plead to an offense they did not commit. These women may not need to be in a drug treatment program but are most likely in need of other services. Ex-offenders have a difficult time finding employment employers routinely discriminate against them.