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International Women's Day

Coming together to discuss the issue of gender difference in drug addiction Awareness raising campaign involving the youth of nine Italian cities

Italy -

United Nations and Italy: Coming together to discuss the issue of gender difference in drug addiction

An awareness raising campaign involving the youth of nine Italian cities: Arezzo, Cosenza, Iglesias Palermo, Rimini, Savona, Torino, Trento e Verona. 8 March 2013

Gender and drug addiction; this is the topic of the initiative that will take place on the International Women’s day, promoted by UNICRI and the Drug Policy Department of the Italian Presidency of the Council of the Ministers in collaboration with the Italian Ministries of Health and of Education.

The event entitled “Gender and Addiction: What do you know about it?” will take place on the 8 March in nine Italian cities and will involve 14-18 year-old students. Youth of both genders will play a central role during the various meetings which will be led by experts on the subject. The aim of the initiative is to inform young people on how gender differences are reflected in drug addiction. The initiative will also deepen the knowledge of problems related to drug addiction.

The event takes place within the framework of the project DAWN (Drug and Alcohol Woman Network) that is supported by the Drug Policy Department of the Italian Presidency of the Council of the Ministers. The project aims at building a network of experts to advocate and promote the development of a gender responsive approach to addiction prevention and recovery, thus facilitating the access to services for those women who are vulnerable to drugs and their consequences. The project also includes the preparation of specific guidelines for health professionals, in collaboration with the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) and other relevant United Nations agencies.

DAWN has already achieved an important international goal, last year, with the approval of a specific Resolution at the 55th Session of the United Nations Commission on Narcotic Drugs. The Resolution commits the Member States to promote “strategies and measures addressing the specific needs of women in the context of comprehensive and integrated drug demand reduction programmes and strategies.”

The different meetings involving the nine Italian cities will take place from 9 am to 1 pm and the participants will be able to communicate with each other, sharing opinions and ideas through the official Twitter account of the event: @dad_net. The meeting that will take place in Turin will be video-streamed on the Internet and will be accessible on www.unicri.it

In each city, experts on addiction will be joined by artists and performers in explaining to students the theme of drugs and gender, among them Luisella Tamietto from the Italian comic duo “Le Suburbe”, who will participate in the Turin event and will contribute to get the teenagers involved in the spirit of the day.

A national competition for young people will also be launched on the topic of “Gender and addiction”. The material collected will be used for an awareness campaign targeting adolescents, who will be the main promoters and protagonists.

For more information: dad.netunicri.it