Most female drug addicts sexually abused, study finds

Drug addiction and sexual abuse go hand in hand in females, a study, which puts Malta on a par with the rest of Europe, has shown.

The reality is that female drug addicts suffer more than their male counterparts when it comes to sexual abuse, with the vast majority being victims of it.

"What is even worse and most concerning is that female drug addicts "normalise" this abuse and it only dawns on them at a much later stage that it is unacceptable," said psychotherapist Mariella Dimech, one of the study's authors.

She worked on the study, which will be presented today, together with forensic pharmacist Mario Mifsud, senior probation officer Mariella Camilleri and Sedqa social worker Vicky Scicluna.

"Unfortunately, an extremely low percentage of these women report and seek help for sexual abuse and rape," Ms Dimech continued.

Agencies like Appoġġ, which deal with such violence, do not receive any female drug addicts. It is too humiliating and shameful for them to talk about sexual abuse. "Drug addiction is a bigger taboo for women than it is for men, making it an even bigger taboo for them to seek help. When they finally do, they do not even mention the abuse," Ms Dimech said.

Female drug addicts were used, victimised, their self-esteem was shattered and they feared they would be separated from their children. They did not seek help for fear of being questioned and judged by society, and they suffered health and psychological problems.

Because they had such a low self-esteem, they easily let themselves be used as sexual objects, Ms Dimech said. Being sexually abused while taking drugs was particularly worrying because it meant these women were even more at risk and the ripple effects were vast, she pointed out.

She believed the situation to be a "serious" problem. But now that it had been scientifically proven, a way forward could be sought.

Sexual abuse in female drug addicts had to be addressed as soon as possible and should be followed up as much as the drug addiction itself, she maintained.

"Let's not fool ourselves that the situation is under control in Malta. We are no different from the rest of the world," Ms Dimech said, highlighting the similarities in the findings.

"You would think that Malta, being such a small country and having a Christian background and strong family values, would be an exception. We tend not to be aware of the serious social problems that exist in this country, which are on similar levels as Europe."

Female drug addicts had specific needs, which had to be recognised and addressed, albeit not necessarily through programmes tailor-made for women because this would require too many resources.

The findings of the study will be discussed at a seminar today, sponsored by Malta Today, and dealing with drug use and sexual abuse, the exchange of good practice and the prevention of violence on female drug addicts.

It was a "first step" in taking action by raising awareness among professionals in related fields, offering them scientifically-based data from Malta and the rest of Europe, she said.

Preventive measures were required to address the problem, and focus groups were being organised to come up with better networking systems to address specific female needs.

Referring to other research worldwide, it had been proven that an extremely high incidence of female drug addicts had also been sexually abused as children, showing a strong link between the two.

Back in 1999, Ms Dimech had carried out a study to show the correlation between drug addiction and all types of abuse. It emerged that the majority of drug addicts were abused as children and adolescents and that most females were abused sexually. The situation has not changed much a decade later but this new study goes a step further, proving that females continue to be abused in adulthood and during drug taking.