• Skip to main content
  • Skip to secondary menu
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
  • Home
  • About Us
  • Our Authors
  • Contact Us

The Punjab Pulse

Centre for Socio-Cultural Studies

  • Areas of Study
    • Social & Cultural Studies
    • Religious Studies
    • Governance & Politics
    • National Perspectives
    • International Perspectives
    • Communism
  • Activities
    • Conferences & Seminars
    • Discussions
  • News
  • Resources
    • Books & Publications
    • Book Reviews
  • Icons of Punjab
  • Videos
  • Academics
  • Agriculture
You are here: Home / News / Social stigma leaves women addicts without treatment

Social stigma leaves women addicts without treatment

September 23, 2019 By News Bureau

Share

Neha Saini

Baljit Kaur (32) (name changed), a housewife and single mother from Patti, is a scared mother. Her 13-year-old son, who she calls her ‘treasure’, lives with her relatives while she is in rehabilitation and she is scared that ‘chitta’ might swallow her son’s life just as it has done to her own.

“I do not want my son to commit the same mistake I did. I can’t face him anymore,” she shares, while looking towards her mother. A drug addict for the past seven years, Baljit is among many women in Punjab who have largely remained ignored, as the war against drugs wages on.

“I was under depression after my divorce. My female cousin, studying law in Chandigarh, introduced me to drugs, claiming that they will calm me down. I started taking 0.25 gm twice a day and gradually increased my dosage.” The gravity of her addiction, she explains, was that she used to lock herself up in her room for hours after injecting, completely oblivious to her son’s existence. “I have been into treatment twice, but the wake-up call came when my son started asking questions I had no answers to,” she says. She has been in the Swami Vivekanand Centre for Drug Rehabilitation for the past week now. Her 60-year-old mother stays with her.

The deep seated social stigma and lack of data is preventing the women users from getting treatment.

Ritu, 27 (name changed), another drug addict, is currently getting treatment in a private rehabilitation centre. She says that she has many friends, all girls, who are into drugs. “I got introduced to prescription drugs by my friend, who works at a beauty salon. We later graduated to other substance abuse. My family was not aware until I was caught by my mother, stealing money for drugs.” Her mother, a housewife, says that her treatment is being done under complete discretion

The lack of data for female drugs users in the state makes it difficult to gauge the intensity of problem. The government-run Swami Vivekanand De-addiction Centre has received only 111 female addicts in the last three years and the Outpatient Opiod Assisted treatment (OOAT) clinic set up inside the Guru Nanak Dev hospital hardly gets any female patient.

“Female addicts are brought as a last resort by families, when they run out money for the addiction or other solutions. Even then, most prefer outdoor treatment through medications and not rehabilitation, which should ideally be the way,” says Dr PD Garg, head of psychiatry department at Guru Nanak Dev Medical College, and in charge, Swami Vivekanand De-addition Centre.

According to a study conducted by the AIIMS and the National Drug Dependence Treatment Centre in 2019, published as Magnitude of Substance Use in India-2019, Punjab has the second highest number of people who inject drugs (88,000 out of estimated 8.5 lakhs). “Even if you assume that out of such big numbers, 1% of users are women, the actual number of them getting treatment and rehabilitation is very dismal. And it is deeply worrying,” says Dr Garg.

Despite the troubling fact, Punjab has only one de-addiction centre for women in Kapurthala. It opened last year and till date has been receiving patients for rehabilitation as well.

Dr JPS Bhatia, neuro-psychiatrist and de-addiction expert, says that since beginning the fight against drug abuse in the state has been focused on male patients. “The identification of women addicts is important as it will open the door for treatment,” he adds.

Courtesy: Tribune


Share
test

Filed Under: News

Primary Sidebar

News

ਪੰਜਾਬ ਚ ਖੇਡਾਂ

February 4, 2023 By News Bureau

ਸਿੱਖ ਫੌਜੀਆਂ ਲਈ ਹੈਲਮੇਟ ਲਾਜ਼ਮੀ ਕਰਨ ਦੇ ਫ਼ੈਸਲੇ ਦਾ ਵਿਰੋਧ

February 4, 2023 By News Bureau

ਪ੍ਰਨੀਤ ਕੌਰ ਕਾਂਗਰਸ ’ਚੋਂ ਮੁਅੱਤਲ

February 4, 2023 By News Bureau

आप सरकार के सत्ता में आने से पंजाब में आया बड़ा बदलाव

February 4, 2023 By News Bureau

मोटा अनाज खाएं; जल-जमीन और जीवन बचाएं

February 4, 2023 By News Bureau

Areas of Study

  • Governance & Politics
  • International Perspectives
  • National Perspectives
  • Social & Cultural Studies
  • Religious Studies

Featured Article

The actual message and etymology of Sri Guru Granth Sahib needs to be preserved

January 31, 2023 By Guest Author

Dr. Rajinder Pal Singh Sri Guru Granth Sahib, the eternal living Guru continues to inspire mankind and provide guidance for God realisation and truthful living. It contains the teachings of the Sikh Gurus as well as of Hindu and Muslim saints. Eternal wisdom flows from its teachings which are recited and sung with intense devotion […]

Academics

‘सिंघसूरमा लेखमाला’ धर्मरक्षक वीरव्रति खालसा पंथ – भाग-10 – भाग-11

सिंघसूरमा लेखमाला धर्मरक्षक वीरव्रति खालसा पंथ – भाग-10 विजयी सैन्य शक्ति के प्रतीक ‘पांच प्यारे’ और पांच ‘ककार’ नरेंद्र सहगल श्रीगुरु गोविंदसिंह द्वारा स्थापित ‘खालसा पंथ’ किसी एक प्रांत, जाति या भाषा का दल अथवा पंथ नहीं था। यह तो संपूर्ण भारत एवं भारतीयता के सुरक्षा कवच के रूप में तैयार की गई खालसा फौज […]

‘सिंघसूरमा लेखमाला’ धर्मरक्षक वीरव्रति खालसा पंथ – भाग-8 – भाग-9

सिंघसूरमा लेखमाला धर्मरक्षक वीरव्रति खालसा पंथ – भाग-8 अमृत शक्ति-पुत्रों का वीरव्रति सैन्य संगठन नरेंद्र सहगल संपूर्ण भारत को ‘दारुल इस्लाम’ इस्लामिक मुल्क बनाने के उद्देश्य से मुगल शासकों द्वारा किए गए और किए जा रहे घोर अत्याचारों को देखकर दशम् गुरु श्रीगुरु गोविंदसिंह ने सोए हुए हिंदू समाज में क्षात्रधर्म का जाग्रण करके एक […]

‘सिंघसूरमा लेखमाला’ धर्मरक्षक वीरव्रति खालसा पंथ – भाग-6 – भाग-7

सिंघसूरमा लेखमाला धर्मरक्षक वीरव्रति खालसा पंथ – भाग-6 श्रीगुरु गोबिन्दसिंह का जीवनोद्देश्य धर्म की स्थापना, अधर्म का नाश नरेंद्र सहगल ‘हिन्द दी चादर’ अर्थात भारतवर्ष का सुरक्षा कवच सिख साम्प्रदाय के नवम् गुरु श्रीगुरु तेगबहादुर ने हिन्दुत्व अर्थात भारतीय जीवन पद्यति, सांस्कृतिक धरोहर एवं स्वधर्म की रक्षा के लिए अपना बलिदान देकर मुगलिया दहशतगर्दी को […]

Twitter Feed

The Punjab Pulse Follow

The Punjab Pulse is an independent, non-partisan think tank engaged in research and in-depth study of all aspects the impact the state of Punjab and Punjabis

ThePunjabPulse
Retweet on Twitter The Punjab Pulse Retweeted
gopalsa22721269 गोपाल सनातनी @gopalsa22721269 ·
4 Feb

निकले तो भारत जोड़ने थे लेकिन यात्रा में बुलाया उनको जो कभी भारत को तोड़ने की बात कर चुके हैं!!

Reply on Twitter 1621779051957587968 Retweet on Twitter 1621779051957587968 12 Like on Twitter 1621779051957587968 19 Twitter 1621779051957587968
Retweet on Twitter The Punjab Pulse Retweeted
gopalsa22721269 गोपाल सनातनी @gopalsa22721269 ·
4 Feb

यही सोच कोंग्रेस को पनपने नही दे रही है जिसने कोंग्रेस का भला किया उसके साथ ऐसा ही व्यवहार करते हैं ??

Reply on Twitter 1621756288521875456 Retweet on Twitter 1621756288521875456 14 Like on Twitter 1621756288521875456 17 Twitter 1621756288521875456
Retweet on Twitter The Punjab Pulse Retweeted
ourindiafirst19 India First @ourindiafirst19 ·
4 Feb

स्वदेशी से बढ़ रही आत्मनिर्भर भारत की धाक 💪

Reply on Twitter 1621762337660350464 Retweet on Twitter 1621762337660350464 14 Like on Twitter 1621762337660350464 44 Twitter 1621762337660350464
Load More

EMAIL NEWSLETTER

Signup to receive regular updates and to hear what's going on with us.

  • Email
  • Facebook
  • Phone
  • Twitter
  • YouTube

TAGS

Academics Activities Agriculture Areas of Study Books & Publications Communism Conferences & Seminars Discussions Governance & Politics Icons of Punjab International Perspectives National Perspectives News Religious Studies Resources Social & Cultural Studies Stories & Articles Uncategorized Videos

Footer

About Us

The Punjab Pulse is an independent, non-partisan think tank engaged in research and in-depth study of all aspects the impact the state of Punjab and Punjabis at large. It strives to provide a platform for a wide ranging dialogue that promotes the interest of the state and its peoples.

Read more

Follow Us

  • Email
  • Facebook
  • Phone
  • Twitter
  • YouTube

Copyright © 2023 · The Punjab Pulse

Developed by Web Apps Interactive