Violence narratives of Mexican women treated in mutual-aid residential centers for addiction treatment

Abstract

BackgroundViolence against women is a social and public health issue in Mexico. The aim of this article is to explore violence among an understudied group of women, who attended Mutual-Aid Residential Centers for Addiction Treatment and experienced stigma both as women and addicts. These centers are particular kind of addiction treatment services that stem from 12-step philosophy, but that have been found to manipulate said philosophy and exercise extreme forms of psychological and physical violence.MethodsThirteen semi-structured interviews were carried in 2014 and 2015 out with women who resided in at least one of these centers to understand their experiences of violence prior and during their rehabilitation process. The interview guide covered questions regarding substance use initiations, family violence and dynamics, and rehabilitation experiences. Qualitative data was analyzed using interpretative-phenomenological analysis.ResultsTwo categories emerged: violence and substance use and abuse, and violence against women in recovery. Results show that all participants experienced violence in their family since childhood, particularly sexual and physical violence. As a result, participants experienced guilt, sadness and shame, which led them to contexts of consumption. Violence continued as they explored alcohol and drug use, even though women felt empowered.ConclusionsTreatment reproduced masculine violence constantly, but women felt that they were in a context that helped them understand their addiction. Even though women felt these centers played a crucial role in their recovery, women’s particular needs and experiences are not considered in the treatment program.

“Somebody Is Gonna Be Hurt”: Involuntary Drug Treatment in Mexico

“…Finally, desirability bias may be present in the narration of their experience. However, the reports of this sample on physical and verbal abuse are comparable to what others had previously reported from studying annexes (Lozano et al 2016;Mora et al 2017).…”

“…Experiences at unregulated drug centers have been widely reported by PWUD as violent and stigmatizing (Mora et al 2017). We found the presence of verbal and physical abuses that others had previously described (Lozano, Romero and Marin 2016;Mora et al 2017). However, we will not elaborate on them because they are not in the scope of this analysis.…”

“…When this care is not voluntarily sought, expressions of violence at drug centers emerge. This violence originates fear among users, which stop them from speaking up (Lozano et al 2016). Experiences at unregulated drug centers have been widely reported by PWUD as violent and stigmatizing (Mora et al 2017).…”

Narrativas sobre el proceso de recuperación ante la adicción: la perspectiva de familiares que asisten a servicios de atención

“…La recuperación se encuentra en espera, y el usuario se encuentra en una situación de mayor deterioro psicosocial. Son relatos en los que puede existir una historia de consumo por varias generaciones, violencia de género y violencia estructural (41) .…”

Diseño y Validación de la Escala de Mitos del Amor Romántico

“…La fuerza simbólica es una forma de poder que, de manera invisible y prolongada, crea las condiciones necesarias para que se acepte y reproduzca el orden social (Bourdieu, 1990(Bourdieu, , 2010Connolly & Healy, 2004;Montesanti & Thurston, 2015). Las estructuras de dominación como el patriarcado la utilizan con el fin de naturalizar y hegemonizar las relaciones de poder que son producto de la propia dominación (Flores & Browne, 2017;Lozano-Verduzco, Romero-Mendoza, & Marín-Navarrete, 2016). Lo que en la actualidad se conoce como ideario del amor romántico es una ideología cultural, propia de la sociedad occidental, que prioriza un modelo concreto de relación íntima (heterosexual, monógama, estable, con papeles diferenciados y jerarquizados entre hombres y mujeres, etc.)…”