Abstract
This chapter outlines how drug and alcohol addictions can lead to crime victimisation, crime offending, debt and poverty. This chapter explores the interface between addictions, sexual exploitation and poverty, with a focus on the harms experienced by being addicted to alcohol and drugs. A gendered lens is applied to appreciate the additional challenges and inequalities faced by women with addictions. Whilst this chapter does not focus on county lines, it does consider how the most vulnerable in society are targets for county-lines and stigmatised through current and historic drugs policy. We advocate for a holistic and trauma informed approach to addressing addictions in the UK and that policy be revisited to be more gender informed.
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Page, S., Bratt, S., Oldfield, S. (2023). Drug and Alcohol Addictions, Sexual Exploitation and Poverty. In: Page, S., Coates, M., Tipping, J., Frangos, J., Goldstraw, K. (eds) Action on Poverty in the UK . Sustainable Development Goals Series. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-37182-0_14
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