Female drug users in European prisons : a European study of prison policies prison drug services and the womens perspectives Most European countries consider drug use as a major problem currently challenging the prison system. Among the drug using prisoners especially female drug users constitute a significant group within criminal justice and prison population. Despite growing health and rehabilitation problems related to the high number of women prisoners with a history of illicit drug use nearly no data are available on how prison policy addresses these issues. For this reason a study has been carried out in order to investigate the prevalence of female drug users in European prisons and their access to drug treatment services. As official data do not represent the views and experiences of the women prisons the second part of the study consisted in face to face interviews with 185 female drug users in several European prisons. This publication presents the results of the survey among the European Ministries of Justice and the findings of the interviews with the women prisoners. Special attention is given to the question which kinds of drug services are available in prison and whether these services really meet the specific needs of women prisoners. <engl.>