Abstract

Women play important roles throughout the drug supply chain. Criminal convictions of women who presided over international drug trafficking organizations — particularly in Latin America, but also in Africa — attest to this. Women’s involvement in opium poppy cultivation in Afghanistan and coca cultivation in Colombia is well documented, as is the role that women play in trafficking drugs, as drug "mules". However, there is a lack of consistent data from Governments to enable a deeper understanding of those roles: 98 countries provided sex-disaggregated drug-related crime data to UNODC for the period 2012–2016. Of the people arrested for drug-related offences in those countries during that period, some 10 per cent were women. Women’s participation in the drug supply chain can often be attributed to vulnerability and oppression, where they are forced to act out of fear. Moreover, women may accept lower pay than men: some researchers have noted that women may feel compelled to accept lower rates of Payment than men to carry out drug trafficking activities, which means that some drug trafficking organizations may be more likely to use women as “mules”. Another narrative has emerged critiquing this approach and arguing that women might be empowered key actors in the drug world economy. Cases have also been documented in which women are key actors in drug trafficking, by choice. Neither explanation provides a complete picture of women’s involvement in the drug supply chain — some are victims, others make their own decisions. Involvement in the illicit drug trade can offer women the chance to earn money and achieve social mobility, but it can also exacerbate gender inequalities because they may still be expected to perform the traditional gender roles of mothers, housekeepers and wives. Lastly, the proportion of women sentenced for drug-related offences is higher than that of men. In some countries, drug-related offences account for the first or second cause of incarceration among women and between the second and fourth cause among men, who are more often incarcerated for other crimes. It has been argued that, as a result of the targeting of low-level drug offences, women may be disproportionately incarcerated for drug offences. Upon release from prison, women face the combined the stigma of their gender and their status as ex-offenders and face challenges, including discrimination, in accessing health care and social services. They may also face social isolation, leaving them to continue living in circumstances of social and economic disadvantage and inequality. Overall, although a multiplicity of factors are behind the participation of women in the drug trade, it has been shown to be shaped by the socioeconomic vulnerability, violence, intimate relationships and economic elements.