Injection drug use among women in Metropolitan Region of Santos, São Paulo state, Brazil

Abstract

The injecting drug use refers mainly to the use of cocaine, and its members are characterized by high frequency of injection, the high number of sexual partners, sexual risk behavior and the exchange of sex for drugs. There are a significant number of women who use injection drugs, requiring continuous research with respect to gender relations that permeate this practice and risk behaviors, and to their specific demands. We attempted to elucidate these women's vulnerability to sexually transmitted diseases (STDs), drug use by partnering with drug users, and unprotected sex as a result of addiction. This was a qualitative study, in which were used participant observation and focus groups as strategies for knowledge of the population. Data were divided into the following themes: drug use, emotional relationships, violence, legal status, sexual behavior, and access to information and health measures. Investment and development of the concept of inequities in gender relations should be recommended for health measures in order to clarify and strengthen the group of women in decision making in their sexual practices and drug use that impute greater vulnerability.