Transitions in income generation among marginalized people who use drugs: A qualitative study on recycling and vulnerability to violence
Transitions in income generation among marginalized people who use drugs: A qualitative study on recycling and vulnerability to violence
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DOI：
10.1016/j.drugpo.2018.06.014
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发表时间：
2018-09-01
影响因子：
4.4
通讯作者：
McNeil, Ryan
中科院分区：
文献类型：
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作者：
Boyd, Jade;Richardson, Lindsey;McNeil, Ryan
背景：收入是吸毒者健康状况的重要决定因素。然而，对于正规和非正规经济中不同类型的创收方式之间的转变，以及对风险和伤害的脆弱性如何影响这些转变，人们仍然知之甚少。本研究考察了加拿大温哥华市中心东区（DTES）社区边缘化的PWUD群体中，创收活动的转变是如何受到暴力影响的。方法：对DTES内从事非正式和非法创收活动的26名个人进行定性访谈。访谈记录按主题进行分析，重点关注2014年1月至2015年4月期间创收与暴力之间的关系，并在解释这些主题时借鉴了社会暴力的概念。结果：参与者参与非正式和非法创收活动代表了在正式就业和经济支持不足的多重障碍下谈判生存的一种手段。我们的研究结果强调了DTES中非正式和非法的创收活动是如何以结构性、象征性和日常暴力为特征的，而从“高风险”（如性工作、毒品交易）向可感知的“低风险”（如回收利用）活动的过渡代表了减少暴力暴露的尝试。然而，与会者强调了非正式的创收方式如何受到结构性暴力（例如，性别等级和警察骚扰）的影响，经历了日常暴力，并引入了替代风险。结论：我们的研究结果强调了创收在塑造暴力暴露方面的关键作用，强调了针对PWUD的低门槛就业干预作为减少伤害战略的核心组成部分的必要性。
Background: Income is an important determinant of health among people who use drugs (PWUD). However, understanding transitions between differing types of income generation within the formal and informal economy and how they can be shaped by vulnerability to risk and harm remain poorly understood. This study examines how transitions in income-generating activities are shaped by and influence exposure to violence among marginalised PWUD, in Vancouver, Canada's, Downtown Eastside (DTES) neighbourhood.Methods: Qualitative interviews were conducted with twenty-six individuals engaged in informal and illegal income-generating activities in the DTES. Interview transcripts were analyzed thematically, focusing on relationships between income generation and violence during the study period between January 2014 to April 2015 and drew upon concepts of social violence when interpreting these themes.Results: Participants' engagement in informal and illegal income-generating activities represented a means to negotiate survival given multiple barriers to formal employment and inadequate economic supports. Our findings highlight how informal and illegal income-generating activities in the DTES are characterized by structural, symbolic and everyday violence, while transitions from 'high risk' (e.g., sex work, drug dealing) to perceived 'low risk' (e.g., recycling) activities represent attempts to reduce exposure to violence. However, participants emphasized how informal income generation was nonetheless shaped by structural violence (e.g., gendered hierarchies and police harassment), experienced as everyday violence, and introduced exposure to alternate risks.Conclusion: Our findings underscore the critical role of income generation in shaping exposure to violence, highlighting the need for low-threshold employment interventions targeting PWUD as a central component of harm reduction strategies.