UK DRUG POLICY COMMISSION

Whilst, generally speaking, it’s no longer considered acceptable to display prejudice against people because of their disability, colour, race, sex or sexuality, many people recovering from drug problems and their families are still experiencing stigma and the resultant discrimination and prejudice on a daily basis.

This stigma can have serious consequences in relation to accessing services - securing employment training, jobs and housing - and at the very least, can make life harder and delay recovery.

The time has come to address this issue. The Commission is undertaking an ambitious 12 month project that will provide a foundation on which recovery communities, professionals and policy makers can build.

The project was launched with a seminar held on 11 February 2010 which can be read about here. If you would like to get involved or keep updated with the project click here.

Funded by the Paul Hamlyn Foundation and with support from the Scottish Drugs Recovery Consortium, the Commission is carrying out research investigating the nature and impact of stigma on those with drug problems. This initial phase of the project has four parts:

1) An Expert Overview: This paper addresses what we know about the stigmatisation of drug users, the possible roots of stigma and ways of combating the discrimination faced by this group. This expert commentary provides a backdrop against which all the findings from the other research can be considered. The report can be downloaded by clicking here.

2) A Public Attitudes Survey: We want to understand public attitudes towards recovering and problematic drug users and to make some comparisons between public attitudes to this group and those with mental health problems. Therefore, we commissioned a survey of about 3,000 individuals across the UK, which was conducted by the market research agency TNS-BMRB.

3) A Media Analysis: Peoples attitudes and behaviour can be shaped by the media and we will be looking at how those with drug dependence problems are portrayed and reported by the printed media. The research involves analysis of national newspapers, across three separate time periods. Analysis will cover issues in the reportage such as the context, language, images used, tone and neutrality and is being undertaken by the Loughborough Communication Research Centre at Loughborough University.

4) The impact of stigma on drug users and their families: The aim is to put a human face to the consequences of stigma and extend our knowledge of the effects of stigma in the UK. This qualitative study will use a mixture of focus groups, an on-line survey and in-depth interviews to capture experience from families and diverse groups of problem drug users to establish the range of ways in which stigma is experienced.

We have now undertaken almost 20 focus groups around the country, in which over 100 people have taken part. So that we can include the experiences of other people who have experienced drug problems or their families, who have not been able to be in one of our focus groups we are now doing a web survey.

ON-LINE SURVEY: If you have experienced problems with drug use, either currently or in the past, as a user or family member and live in the UK and would like to take part in a short web survey about your experiences of stigma, please click here.

For a more detailed summary of the four stages of our stigma research project click here.

Stigma in the News:
"Rehabilitation? Not on my doorstep" - Nacro's concerns over Nimbyism in the Big Society.

Photo collage: UK drug policy - a complex issue