ID: 1129

Type of submission: Oral

Conference track: Practice

Topics: Harm Reduction Services and Service Provision; Human Rights and Harm Reduction

Presenting author: Yelena Bilokon

Presenting author biography:

I really want to take part in this event and share our unique experience in harm reduction programs. Share model providing comprehensive services for drug addicts. See the experience of successful practices of harm reduction experts Learn new approaches to harm reduction programs in order to return to introduce country

Ensuring gender specific services women drug addicts, Kazakhstan

Yelena Bilokon, Erika Matuizaite, Vera Larina

Questions / Issue: In Kazakhstan, women addicts closed group, are constantly exposed to stigma and discrimination on the part of society and from all structures. They have limited access to reproductive health services, to medical and social services to the OST program, veiled failures occur in hospitals, instead of counseling during pregnancy, faced with the fact that they are starting to motivate an abortion, women are often subjected to violations of reproductive rights. The stigma and bias leads to serious consequences for their health, as women are faced with biased attitude, no longer want to apply to the Medical Institutions for the treatment or prophylactic medical examination that entails mortality, unwanted pregnancy, unsafe abortions, the spread of HIV. On October 1, 2016 in the Karaganda region recorded 4607 people living with HIV, of which 60% of women, of which 32% of women drug addicts

Activity Project: To improve the quality of life of women drug users and minimize the consequences we have developed a model of gender-sensitive services for women drug addicts: in support of medical institutions, the prevention of HIV transmission from mother to child, psychological support, redirect OST counseling pregnancy and OST support in the courts. The model also includes a "school of street legal."

Outcomes: Total 435 clients have become participants of the project. Consult the method of "peer to peer" 416 project clients. Advice on pregnancy and OST provided to 76 women. Psychological support for 212 women.Through schooling street 10 women lawyers. Redirected on OST 12

Lessons learned: Strong partnerships with government agencies gave good results when redirecting clients to obtain medical social services, including OST. Conducting School Street lawyers, it was a good incentive to identify leaders, legal literacy, self-esteem, which also reduced the self-stigmatization and increased uptake of women to health and social services.