Mothers Who Use Drugs: Closing the Gaps in Harm Reduction Response Amidst the Dual Epidemics of Overdose and Violence in a Canadian Urban Setting

Participants’ substance use and overdose risk (e.g., injecting alone) was shaped by fear of institutional and partner scrutiny and loss (or feared loss) of child custody or reunification. Findings indicate that punitive policies and institutional practices that frame women who use drugs as unfit parents continue to negatively shape the lives of women, most significantly among Indigenous participants.