By Dale Hardy, Social Justice 12 teacher at Riverside Centre Continuing Education School in Maple Ridge and Ed May Social Responsibility Grant recipient
We have been giving out Naloxone kits since and not masculinity, is at the “ “ Objectification, 2014. Mostly women come in to pick them up root of all human cruelty. The feeding of to support a female friend with addiction. division has never made the world better. We see this much less often with men. Closing gaps through compassionate “ understanding and connection is the only way out. “ —Polegate A., Executive Director, Alouette Addictions Services
—Mental Health Outreach Worker
OUR PURPOSE
OUR PROCESS
The 2017 BC Coroners Service’s report on the opioid crisis documented 1,446 overdose fatalities. Of the victims, 1,191 were men and 255 were women. Fentanyl was involved in over 80% of these deaths, and over 90% of the victims were using alone. The overall number of overdose fatalities represented a 43% increase from 2016.
Over a five-month period, our Social Justice 12 class conducted over 24 interviews at Riverside Centre Continuing Education and out in the community, both in Maple Ridge and Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside. We also researched online using sources that various interviewees shared.
When Mark Goheen, a clinical specialist at Fraser Health Mental Health and Substance Use Services, shared these statistics with my Social Justice 12 class, we formulated the following questions: • Why are males overrepresented in opioid fatalities? • Why are trade workers overrepresented in opioid fatalities? • What strategies are female drug users employing that serve as harm reduction? • What role does gender and gender socialization play in minimizing or maximizing risk?
addicts will support “ Female each other when one is dope
sick. Reciprocity kicks in. It is rare to see that kind of sharing with male addicts.
OUR CHALLENGES • Many interviewees had not considered our topic of investigation, and they initially offered few insights. Some participants who worked for government agencies or non-profit societies were either reluctant or refused to be quoted, fearing administrative or funding repercussions. • Many of the things we witnessed and learned were overwhelming. These included the death of a 27-year-old support worker with whom my class had developed a strong connection, witnessing a man experiencing an overdose on the street, learning that 14 people had overdosed in one night at the Vancouver Area Network of Drug Users (VANDU), and hearing of the intense grief VANDU staff were experiencing due to the death of a staff member.
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—Woman with addictions
iStock
ED MAY GRANTS
Death by Gender
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BCTF Social Justice Newsletter, Winter/Spring 2020
