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The Barcelona Declaration

08/03/2019| Publications / Events

In 2019, February more than 40 womxn from Europe and Central Asia met in Barcelona to work together on intersectional feminism, drug policy, harm reduction and human rights, where the Barcelona Declaration was initiated:

THE BARCELONA DECLARATION

On International Women's Day 2019, we declare that the War On Drugs is a war on Womxn Who Use Drugs

The War On Drugs is racist, sexist, classist and heterosexist, and disproportionately affects womxn of colour, youth and womxn in poor communities.

As womxn, trans and gender non-conforming people surviving this war, we reject the widespread stigma, discrimination and criminalisation we face in our daily lives. We call for complete reform and transformation of the current system of prohibition. We call for an end to the ignorant and negative rhetoric.

Drug treatment services are gendered, classed, sexualised and racialised. Drug 'treatment' itself is based on spurious and outdated research, and allows unbridled and unregulated power over the individual. We reject these methods and the ideologies underpinning them.

Global and systemic oppressions violate our rights, as womxn, trans and gender non-conforming people who use drugs, and situate us in multiple, interconnected, vulnerable positions, which lead to numerous harms: 

  • As womxn who inject drugs, we have a higher prevalence of HIV and Hepatitis than men. Despite this, we don't appear in data and endure discrimination and exclusion from social and health services. The few resources we have tend to be masculinised and inaccessible as well as often not meeting our needs, interests or expectations.  
  • We are disproportionately impacted by structural violence and social control from the State (policing, limited access to legal aid, extortion, long prison sentences, rape, extrajudicial murder and capital punishment). 
  • The majority of womxn in prison are sentenced for non-violent drug related offences. Womxn of colour, ethnic minorities, non-binary or trans, and the homeless are particularly targeted.
  • In several countries, we face detention in compulsory, unregulated 'treatment'' centres, often for indefinite periods with little or no access to judicial processes. Incarceration in closed settings creates a context for increased human rights violations, such as rape and extortion. 
  • We often experience endemic violence  and exclusion within our own communities and families. Not only are we more likely to be assaulted by our partners, but we are less likely to have recourse to justice and protection. 
  • We suffer intrusion into our bodily and physical integrity, maternal and family life and domestic space. We face routine violations of our sexual and reproductive health rights, by both community and state such as coerced sterilization  and  pregnancy termination.
  • Stigma that assumes womxn who use drugs cannot take care of their children and misinformation on the effects of drug use feeds into strong pressures to end pregnancy. When we don't terminate our pregnancies, there's a strong possibility we will lose custody of our children. 
  • Those of us who are sex workers, womxn living with disabilities, and especially trans womxn, cope with an unacceptable and compounded web of stigma, discrimination and social exclusion.  

     Despite living with these and other multiple forms of violence daily, Womxn Fighting back Against the War On Drugs are resourceful, enterprising, creative and strong. We possess remarkable resilience. We fight back against prohibition with solidarity, mutual support and leadership, building our networks from the grassroots to the global, from immediate action to long-term strategies to end this war on womxn who use drugs. We embrace intersectional and anti-prohibitionist feminism that integrates queer/trans-inclusive and non-ableist approaches, racial justice and the right to use drugs and experience pleasure. We work to reclaim our bodily sovereignty, including rights to the full range of sexual and reproductive health, gender-sensitive health services, and rights to use drugs. We do not ask for charity but for solidarity.  We demand to live in safety and freedom.

This declaration is an invitation to join forces with womxn like us, womxn who demand an end to the War on Drugs and the negative impact it has on all our lives. 

"Let us all cause some trouble and begin to change the world with and for women who use drugs with our powerful conceptual armaments in hand.” Elizabeth Ettorre (feminist scholar)

Our bodies - our choice, our rights, our voice.

#narcofeminism #femdrug

 

The following groups / organisations support this declaration:

To add your organisation’s name to the signatories in solidarity or to keep in touch - please complete this form.

  1. Women and Harm Reduction International Network (WHRIN)
  2. COUNTERfit
  3. Metzineres. Sheltered Enviroments for Womxn who Use Drugs Surviving Violences
  4. XADUD. Network of Womxn who Use Drugs 
  5. REMA. Network of Anti-Prohibitionist Women
  6. Eurasian Harm Reduction Association
  7. ARSU - Grup de Dones
  8. FAAAT think & do tank
  9. Pla d’accions sobre drogues de Reus
  10. European Institute for Multidisciplinary Studies on Human Rights and Science | Knowmad Institut
  11. Iglesia Evangélica Protestante de El Salvador (IEPES) 
  12. Youth RISE
  13. Association for Women’s Rights in Development (AWID) 
  14. International Network of Women who use Drugs (INWUD)
  15. PeerNUPS
  16. Canadian Students for Sensible Drug Policy
  17. Género y Drogodependencias (Madrid)
  18. EuroNPUD
  19. AFEW International
  20. Life Quality Improvement Organisation FLIGHT
  21. CA Prima
  22. “Harmreduction network” Association
  23. Društvo AREAL
  24. AFEW International
  25. PeNUPS
  26. CASO Portugal
  27. APDES
  28. WeCanna-Weedgest
  29. Youth Organisation for Drug Action
  30. NGO Re Generation
  31. Perempuan Pengguna NAPZA Indonesia dan Deklarasi Jenggala
  32. CHECK!N
  33. LUNEST, EHPV
  34. Asia Catalyst
  35. Tinatin Zardiashvili
  36. Real People Real Vision
  37. CF "VIRTUS"
  38. Stop Overdose Now
  39. ANTONIA ROSSI
  40. ARAS - Romanian Association Against AIDS
  41. Association Margina
  42. Delhi Drug User Forum
  43. En Plenas Facultades
  44. CA PRIMA
  45. Release 
  46. LGBT organization Labrys
  47. ALE "Kazakhs Union of People Living with HIV"
  48. AKUT Foundation, Hungary
  49. ItanPUD - Italian Network of People Who Use Drugs
  50. Club "Svitanok", Ukraine
  51. Eurasian Women's Network on AIDS
  52. Hepminus
  53. Crew
  54. Kosmicare Association 
  55. COUNTERfit Harm Reduction Program (Canada)
  56. Jane Lane
  57. ASAUPAM
  58. ARSU
  59. Toronto Overdose Prevention Society
  60. Help Not Harm
  61. Perempuan Bersuara
  62. Gerakan Advokasi Kebijakan NAPZA Indonesia (GAKNI) / Indonesia Drugs Policy Advocacy
  63. Forum Akar Rumput Indonesia (FARI) / Grass-Roots Indonesian Forum 
  64. Aksi Keadilan Indonesia (AKI) / Indonesian Justice Action
  65. Persaudaraan Korban NAPZA Bogor (PKN Bogor) / Bogor Drug User Community
  66. Drugs Policy Reform (DRP) Banten, Indonesia
  67. Komunitas perempuan pengguna napza pekanbaru
  68. Rights Reporter Foundation
  69. SANANIM
  70. Forum Droghe onlus - Italy
  71. Salamander Trust
  72. SALVAGE
  73. TaNPUD
  74. Federación de asociaciones Cannàbicas de Cataluña (CatFAC)
  75. Global Inklusi Perlindungan AIDS
  76. Indonesia Drug Policy Reform
  77. GO "All- Ukrainian network of Ukrainiane Users"
  78. Nepal for Public Health
  79. GAKNI - Gerakan Advokasi Kebijakan Napza Indonesia ( Indonesia Drug Policy Advocacy Movement)
  80. KPPNP/(komunitas perempuan pengguna napza pekanbaru) Community of women who use drugs Pekanbaru
  81. Harm Reduction International
  82. EATG (European AIDS Treatment Group)
  83. Steps
  84. AIVL
  85. New Taskon padang
  86. PREKURSOR Foundation for Social Policy
  87. STOP AIDS, ALBANIA
  88. Odyseus
  89. Sexism Free Night
  90. Sex Worker Advocacy and Resistance Movement (SWARM)
  91. Andrey Rylkov Foundation
  92. InMouraria-GAT
  93. Drug Policy Network South East Europe
  94. Women in Europe and Central Asian Regions plus (WECARe+)
  95. NORML France
  96. Canadian Drug Policy Coalition
  97. Élixir
  98. 4yourvoiceportugal
  99. Legalize Belarus
  100. SimplementeOpinión
  101. India HIV/AIDS Alliance
  102. Estonian Association of People who Use psychotropic substances „Lunest“
  103. SALVAGe
  104. Women Who Use Drugs Malaysia
  105. NGO Volunteer (Tajikistan GBAO)
  106. Indigo Harm Reduction Services
  107. Polish Drug Policy Network
  108. CATNPUD - Catalan Network of People who Use Drugs
  109. NGO "RIGHT OF EVERYONE"
  110. New Generation Humanitarian NGO / Armenia (NGNGO)
  111. Občianske združenie Prima
  112. NGO "April Project"
  113. Frontline AIDS
  114. Romanian Harm Reduction Network
  115. Eurasian Network of People who Use Drugs
  116. ICEERS Foundation
  117. ОФ "Ранар" Кыргызстан
  118. ECOM - Eurasian Coalition on Male Health
  119. Healthy Options Project Skopje
  120. Legalize Belarus
  121. White Noise Movement
  122. Energy Control
  123. TEDA MAT recovering community based organization working with mat recovering users and active drug users malindi Kenya
  124. HOPS - Healthy Options Project Skopje
  125. The National Council for Incarcerated and Formerly Incarcerated Women and Girls
  126. Indian Drug Users Forum
  127. Association Prevent
  128. Pivotal Homes Group
  129. LSD foundation
  130. Health Poverty Action
  131. Centre on Drug Policy Evaluation
  132. EQUIS Justicia para las Mujeres
  133. International Drug Policy Consortium (IDPC)
  134. West Africa Drug Policy Network (WADPN)
  135. TB HIV Care
  136. SA Drug Policy
  137. South African Network of People Who Use Drugs (SANPUD)
  138. Intercambios Asociación Civil
  139. StoptheDrugWar.org
  140. AGRRR - Association Guyanaise de Réduction des Risques
  141. Associazione Luca Coscioni
  142. Science for Democracy
  143. Asociación Costarricense para el Estudio e Intervención en Drogas (ACEID)
  144. Centro de Orientacion e Investigacion Integral (COIN)
  145. NORML FRANCE
  146. Las Borders de México

To add your organisation’s name to the signatories in solidarity or to keep in touch - please complete this form.