Carrer de la Lluna, in the neighborhood of El Raval in Barcelona, where Metzineres is located

Metzineres (in full "Metzineres - Environments of shelter for womxn who take drugs surviving violences") is a nonprofit cooperative based in Barcelona, Spain, providing shelter for vulnerable and marginalized women and non-binary people who use drugs, including homeless people.[1][2] The project was launched in 2017[3] and registered as a non-profit cooperative in October 2020.[4]

Services and activities

Beyond essential health and harm reduction services, Metzineres includes services of cover basic needs such as shower, access to internet, hot meals, spaces for peer-support,[5] modalities to engage with neighborhood communities,[6] help to entrepreneurship, art[7] and cultural activities,[8] webradio,[9] as well as a needle and syringe programme and a supervised injection site.[10] Metzineres also engage in advocacy such as demands for heroin-assisted treatment.[11]

Because of barriers to access to healthcare and institutional gaps, marginalized women and non-binary persons who use illicit drugs may not access the health or social services to which they are entitled. For this reason, some believe that "the Metzineres initiative [...] represents a promising model for how harm-reduction programs can provide essential services and support to women and gender non-conforming drug users who have survived situations of violence."[12]

During the COVID-19 pandemic in Spain, Metzineres was recognized as an essential health service by health authorities,[13] and integrated as a special intervention service in the healthcare plan of the Catalan government.[14]

Metzineres also participates in harm reduction conferences,[3][15] international fora such as the United Nations Commission on Narcotic Drugs[16] and High-level meeting on HIV/AIDS,[17] and activist groups such as the International Network of People who Use Drugs[18] or International Drug Policy Consortium.

Name

The word "metzinera" (plural: "metzineres") is an ancient catalan term, historically used to denigrate women accused of witchcraft, in particular for their use of herbal remedies.[2] According to FilterMag, "the 'x' in the word womxn intentionally signifies a commitment to engage cis, trans and non-binary community members."[19]

See also

References

  1. ↑ Roig Forteza, Aura (2019). METZINERES: SHELTERING AND EMPOWERING WOMEN WHO USE DRUGS, SURVIVORS OF VIOLENCE (PDF). GENDER AND DRUG POLICY: EXPLORING INNOVATIVE APPROACHES TO DRUG POLICY AND INCARCERATION. Washington, DC: Washington Office on Latin America.
  2. 1 2 "Per bruixa i metzinera". www.mhcat.cat. Retrieved 2022-10-05.
  3. 1 2 Marín, Mar (2019-05-04). "'Metzineres', hechiceras para el alma de mujeres vulnerables". La Vanguardia (in Spanish). Retrieved 2022-07-20.
  4. ↑ Women and Harm Reduction International Network (WHRIN) (2021). "WHRIN Interview: Metzineres, Barcelona". whrin.site.
  5. ↑ Metzineres. "Environments of Shelter (English)". metzineres.org.
  6. ↑ Estirado, Laura (2022-02-16). "El día que las 'metzineres' del Raval fueron modelos". El Periódico de Catalunya (in European Spanish). Retrieved 2022-07-20.
  7. ↑ Schultz, Christina (2020). "Conjuros y Colocones: A mystic and poetic investigation on spells and potions as female cures by women who use drugs, the Metzineres". christinaschultz.com.
  8. ↑ Design Museum of Barcelona; Ojalá Projects Association (2021). "Disseny per a la Inclusió | Design for Inclusion". Ojalá. Retrieved 2022-07-20.
  9. ↑ Lawlor, Ruby (2020-12-03). "Empowering Young Women & Non-Binary People Who Use Drugs in Barcelona". Youth RISE.
  10. ↑ Godfrey, Will (2019-11-12). "The Drug Policy Reform Movement Debates Its Next Moves". Filter.
  11. ↑ Planta baixa (2021), L'ús de l'heroïna com a teràpia [The use of heroin as a therapy] (in Catalan), TV3
  12. ↑ Jardine, Melissa; Burns, Katya (2020). Training manual for gender-responsive harm reduction policing and law enforcement (PDF). New Delhi: UNODC India office.
  13. ↑ Politico Studio (2020-08-28). "Hepatitis C — a virus we already have the tools to eliminate". POLITICO. Retrieved 2022-07-20.
  14. ↑ Generalitat de Catalunya (2021-03-18). "El conseller Chakir el Homrani visita un servei que atén dones en situació de consum de drogues i violències masclistes a Barcelona". Govern.cat.
  15. ↑ Soderberg, Brandon (2020-01-22). "Inside Baltimore's Unique Bid to Open Safe Consumption Sites". Filter.
  16. ↑ United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, Secretariat to the Governing Bodies (2021). "SHIFTING THE NEEDLE: THE IMPACT OF GLOBAL DRUG POLICY ON WOMEN". Side-events report, 64th session of the Commission on Narcotic Drugs (PDF). Vienna: United Nations Office in Vienna. p. 24.
  17. ↑ President of the United Nations General Assembly (2021), Letter to all Permanent Representatives and Permanent Observers to the United Nations New York, dated 17 May 2021. United Nations General Assembly (2021) Draft decision submitted by the President of the General Assembly: Participation of non-governmental organizations, civil society organizations, academic institutions and the private sector in the high-level meeting on HIV/AIDS (Document nºA/75/L.86).
  18. ↑ Takács, István Gábor (2021-11-08). "Metzineres: From Survival to Fighting Back". Drugreporter. Retrieved 2022-07-20.
  19. ↑ Evans, Liz (2022-10-04). "In Barcelona, Metzineres Creates a Social Model That "Fits Very Well"". FilterMag. Retrieved 2022-10-05.
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