Tethered to this ball and chain": Women's perspectives on bodily agency within opioid treatment programs

Women described how both formal and informal policies in the OTP system can taper these benefits by diminishing their feelings of bodily agency. Women reported a lost sense of bodily agency due to being unable to provide input in the dosing process, navigating strict requirements that tied medication receipt to compliance, and facing mistreatment or threats of punishment when committing perceived transgressions. Women responded through actions that reclaimed bodily agency, by either leaving treatment or using illegal drugs while in treatment; both of these actions can end women's engagement with treatment. Finally, evidence suggests that these feelings of lost agency may be particularly prevalent among female patients due to gendered judgments about women's histories and capabilities.