After an initial publication on children whose parents use drugs in 2022, the Pompidou Group has continued research on this topic as part of an ongoing effort to give visibility to these children and to develop proposals for creating or strengthening services that both protect children and support families. It also intertwines with the effort of the Pompidou Group to integrate a gender dimension into drug policies in Europe. This volume contains testimonies from 110 women who use drugs, in 11 different countries: Croatia, Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Malta, Mexico, North Macedonia, Romania and Switzerland, and who participated in individual or collective interviews about their parental drug use, their paths of consumption and how they access services, including the barriers and facilitators encountered. Their involvement through providing valuable information on gender-responsive, drugrelated policies is appreciated and their contribution is recognised. The Children and families affected by parental drug use series comprises four volumes: Volume I Children whose parents use drugs – Promising practices and recommendations Volume II We are warriors – Women who use drugs reflect on parental drug use, their paths of consumption and access to services Volume III Listen to the silence of the child – Children share their experiences and proposals on the impact of drug use in the family Volume IV Children and parents affected by drug use – An overview of programmes and actions for comprehensive and non-stigmatising services and care
Following an initial publication in 2022 on children whose parents use drugs, the Pompidou Group has continued research on this topic by giving 110 women who use drugs, in 11 different countries, the opportunity to provide their testimonies, which appear in a second volume entitled: We are warriors – Women who use drugs reflect on parental drug use, their paths of consumption and access to services. With this third volume, 33 children in five countries are given the floor with the aim of making their experiences visible and ensuring that their voices are listened to, thus breaking the silence that surrounds the impact of parental drug use on children and letting them know that they are not alone. Children were approached by services that already work with them, mainly drug treatment or harm reduction services, although in some cases child protection services were also involved. The children’s voices are expressed with delicacy, introspection, firmness and sometimes confusion or uncertainty. Only by listening to children and giving them feedback can an effective, human rights-based, participatory children’s rights agenda be transformed into action. The Children and families affected by parental drug use series comprises four volumes: Volume I Children whose parents use drugs – Promising practices and recommendations Volume II We are warriors – Women who use drugs reflect on parental drug use, their paths of consumption and access to services Volume III Listen to the silence of the child – Children share their experiences and proposals on the impact of drug use in the family Volume IV Children and parents affected by drug use – An overview of programmes and actions for comprehensive and non-stigmatising services and care
Parental drug use affects children at every stage of their lives, from before birth and well into their adult lives The aim of this report is to shed light on an invisible population: children and adolescents living in families where at least one parent uses drugs. This focus on children exposed to parental dependence on drugs and alcohol implies helping them and their families to overcome dependence and its consequences. Parental drug use impacts children at every stage of their lives, from before birth and well into their adult lives. However, until now, this situation has received very little attention. This report looks at children growing up in families affected by drug and alcohol dependence, as well as the services, programmes and practices that help protect childhood and ensure children’s needs are met, while at the same time addressing the needs of parents. This project is part of the Pompidou Group’s mission of integrating human rights into drug policy. It was proposed in response to the Council of Europe’s invitation to the Pompidou Group Secretariat to participate in the Inter-Secretariat Task Force on Children’s Rights and to contribute to the discussions on the themes which should appear in the new Council of Europe Strategy on the Rights of the Child (2022-2027). The contents, conclusions and recommendations presented in the report contribute to the growing knowledge and interest in this topic and serve as a practical reference for the identification of promising practices and international partners. Far from being a conclusion, this report is the first step in a joint effort to give visibility to children of parents who use drugs and a tool to foster cooperation and dialogue that will continue in 2022 with Phase III of the project.
Following an initial publication in 2022 on children whose parents use drugs, the Pompidou Group has continued research on this topic by looking at 33 programmes from 11 countries. These include data collection; parenting programmes; social and integrated services for children; multidisciplinary, holistic approaches to working with families; services for women victims and survivors of gender-based violence; protocols for co-operation; drug treatment services; and residential communities for women and their children. After giving the floor to women and children, respectively, in Volumes II and III of this series, the fourth volume offers a perspective of how to develop more comprehensive, child-centred approaches in drug policies in general and in non-stigmatising drug treatment and care in particular. This study, which is the outcome of international collaboration among researchers, practitioners and policy makers at different levels, works toward the ultimate goal of mainstreaming human rights, including children’s rights, into drug policy. The Children and families affected by parental drug use series comprises four volumes: Volume I Children whose parents use drugs – Promising practices and recommendations Volume II We are warriors – Women who use drugs reflect on parental drug use, their paths of consumption and access to services Volume III Listen to the silence of the child – Children share their experiences and proposals on the impact of drug use in the family Volume IV Children and parents affected by drug use – An overview of programmes and actions for comprehensive and non-stigmatising services and care
Following an initial publication in 2022 on children whose parents use drugs, the Pompidou Group has continued research on this topic by looking at 33 programmes from 11 countries. These include data collection; parenting programmes; social and integrated services for children; multidisciplinary, holistic approaches to working with families; services for women victims and survivors of gender-based violence; protocols for co-operation; drug treatment services; and residential communities for women and their children. After giving the floor to women and children, respectively, in Volumes II and III of this series, the fourth volume offers a perspective of how to develop more comprehensive, child-centred approaches in drug policies in general and in non-stigmatising drug treatment and care in particular. This study, which is the outcome of international collaboration among researchers, practitioners and policy makers at different levels, works toward the ultimate goal of mainstreaming human rights, including children’s rights, into drug policy. The Children and families affected by parental drug use series comprises four volumes: Volume I Children whose parents use drugs – Promising practices and recommendations Volume II We are warriors – Women who use drugs reflect on parental drug use, their paths of consumption and access to services Volume III Listen to the silence of the child – Children share their experiences and proposals on the impact of drug use in the family Volume IV Children and parents affected by drug use – An overview of programmes and actions for comprehensive and non-stigmatising services and care
Following an initial publication in 2022 on children whose parents use drugs, the Pompidou Group has continued research on this topic by giving 110 women who use drugs, in 11 different countries, the opportunity to provide their testimonies, which appear in a second volume entitled: We are warriors – Women who use drugs reflect on parental drug use, their paths of consumption and access to services. With this third volume, 33 children in five countries are given the floor with the aim of making their experiences visible and ensuring that their voices are listened to, thus breaking the silence that surrounds the impact of parental drug use on children and letting them know that they are not alone. Children were approached by services that already work with them, mainly drug treatment or harm reduction services, although in some cases child protection services were also involved. The children’s voices are expressed with delicacy, introspection, firmness and sometimes confusion or uncertainty. Only by listening to children and giving them feedback can an effective, human rights-based, participatory children’s rights agenda be transformed into action. The Children and families affected by parental drug use series comprises four volumes: Volume I Children whose parents use drugs – Promising practices and recommendations Volume II We are warriors – Women who use drugs reflect on parental drug use, their paths of consumption and access to services Volume III Listen to the silence of the child – Children share their experiences and proposals on the impact of drug use in the family Volume IV Children and parents affected by drug use – An overview of programmes and actions for comprehensive and non-stigmatising services and care
After an initial publication on children whose parents use drugs in 2022, the Pompidou Group has continued research on this topic as part of an ongoing effort to give visibility to these children and to develop proposals for creating or strengthening services that both protect children and support families. It also intertwines with the effort of the Pompidou Group to integrate a gender dimension into drug policies in Europe. This volume contains testimonies from 110 women who use drugs, in 11 different countries: Croatia, Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Malta, Mexico, North Macedonia, Romania and Switzerland, and who participated in individual or collective interviews about their parental drug use, their paths of consumption and how they access services, including the barriers and facilitators encountered. Their involvement through providing valuable information on gender-responsive, drugrelated policies is appreciated and their contribution is recognised. The Children and families affected by parental drug use series comprises four volumes: Volume I Children whose parents use drugs – Promising practices and recommendations Volume II We are warriors – Women who use drugs reflect on parental drug use, their paths of consumption and access to services Volume III Listen to the silence of the child – Children share their experiences and proposals on the impact of drug use in the family Volume IV Children and parents affected by drug use – An overview of programmes and actions for comprehensive and non-stigmatising services and care
Parental drug use affects children at every stage of their lives, from before birth and well into their adult lives The aim of this report is to shed light on an invisible population: children and adolescents living in families where at least one parent uses drugs. This focus on children exposed to parental dependence on drugs and alcohol implies helping them and their families to overcome dependence and its consequences. Parental drug use impacts children at every stage of their lives, from before birth and well into their adult lives. However, until now, this situation has received very little attention. This report looks at children growing up in families affected by drug and alcohol dependence, as well as the services, programmes and practices that help protect childhood and ensure children’s needs are met, while at the same time addressing the needs of parents. This project is part of the Pompidou Group’s mission of integrating human rights into drug policy. It was proposed in response to the Council of Europe’s invitation to the Pompidou Group Secretariat to participate in the Inter-Secretariat Task Force on Children’s Rights and to contribute to the discussions on the themes which should appear in the new Council of Europe Strategy on the Rights of the Child (2022-2027). The contents, conclusions and recommendations presented in the report contribute to the growing knowledge and interest in this topic and serve as a practical reference for the identification of promising practices and international partners. Far from being a conclusion, this report is the first step in a joint effort to give visibility to children of parents who use drugs and a tool to foster cooperation and dialogue that will continue in 2022 with Phase III of the project.
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