Webinar summary: Substance use and women who sell or exchange sex
Substance use is a key issue in the lives of women involved in selling or exchanging sex. In Scotland, the 2021 Snapshot by the Encompass Network of services supporting women who sell or exchange sex revealed that 46% of the women disclosed a substance use issue. For our first webinar in 2023, our focus was on the needs of women selling or exchanging sex who use substances.
The session started with a short overview of how substance use can serve as a pathway into selling/exchanging sex, the multiple risks that it can present whilst women are involved, and the double-stigma it can pose when women seek support. We heard the recorded testimony of a woman who sells sex whose involvement is closely linked to her substance use.
Next, we heard from our three invited speakers who shared their experience of supporting women involved in the ‘sex industry’ and responding to their substance use needs:
For the participation aspect of this event, we invited attendees to share their reflections after each of these inputs and to note some actions they plan to take after the event. Some of these included:
The session started with a short overview of how substance use can serve as a pathway into selling/exchanging sex, the multiple risks that it can present whilst women are involved, and the double-stigma it can pose when women seek support. We heard the recorded testimony of a woman who sells sex whose involvement is closely linked to her substance use.
Next, we heard from our three invited speakers who shared their experience of supporting women involved in the ‘sex industry’ and responding to their substance use needs:
- First off, Louise Bowman and Lesley Bon, National Development and Training Officers at the Scottish Drugs Forum, joined us through a pre-recorded talk about harm reduction and the findings of their research into the vulnerability and risk for women involved in transactional sex who use drugs. They shared some practical questions to ask women and emphasised the need to be curious to better understand patterns and reasons for using substances.
- Melanie Matto, Substance Use Worker at Alcohol and Drugs Action in Aberdeen, shared details of the services offered to women who sell or exchange sex as well as a case study to demonstrate how she applies a harm reduction and trauma-informed approach. She highlighted the importance of workers broadening their knowledge of substances and their understanding of why people might use them.
- Finally, Hannah Boyle, the Women’s Harm Reduction Coordinator at Simon Community Scotland discussed the benefits their organisation saw when their approach changed to harm reduction and how they are further expanding this through the use of an app designed for homeless women called ByMYSide.
For the participation aspect of this event, we invited attendees to share their reflections after each of these inputs and to note some actions they plan to take after the event. Some of these included:
"I will discuss gendered approaches to harm reduction in my organisation."
"Explore app, and highlight to relevant clients."
"Generally being more aware of how CSE and drug use are linked. I will also look at the websites for further information."
If you wish to see the recording for this substance use event, please get in touch. You can also find a list of our upcoming webinars here, and subscribe to our bulletin to get notified once registrations open.
