Jude Byrne Emerging Female Leader Award
INHSU and INPUD are proud to honour the memory of a legendary drug user advocate through the Jude Byrne Emerging Female Leader Award. Now in its third year, this prestigious award is designed to foster expertise and resilience in the next generation of women who use drugs. Two recipients are chosen each year to participate in a nine-month mentorship program with INPUD along with $10,000 USD and a scholarship to the annual INHSU conference.
Jude Byrne was an extraordinary person and fearless advocate for people who use drugs over a career spanning decades, holding numerous roles with the Australian Injecting and Illicit Drug Users League (AIVL) as well as serving as a board member of INHSU. Jude was also a founding member of INPUD and acting Chair of the Board for close to a decade. Few people have left such a lasting impact on the movement as Jude. Read more about Jude’s life and impact here.
2024 Jude Byrne Award Recipients
This year the award received over 26 nominations from 15 countries, with two recipients chosen after an extensive judging process involving community representatives.
“The dedication and passion shown by all nominees was outstanding, and as always, this was a very tough decision,” explained Judy Chang, INPUD Executive Director. “The selected recipients exemplify the spirit and legacy of Jude Byrne, and we look forward to seeing their impact on the global movement.”
The recipients will be presenting more about their achievements at the INHSU 2024 conference, taking place in Athens, Greece from 8-11 October.
“We are thrilled to support the Jude Byrne Emerging Female Leader Award for the third year,” said Emma Day, INHSU Executive Director. “It’s increasingly important to provide a space for women who use drugs to lead and innovate. We are also excited to welcome the awardees to INHSU 2024 in Athens on a full scholarship, where they will present their work and engage with the broader community.”
Alla Bessenova, Bishek, Kyrgyzstan
Alla is a committed activist and narcofeminist from Kyrgyzstan (Central Asia), actively involved in gender-oriented projects focusing on women’s rights in drug policy and improving their quality of life. She is a Master’s student at the Faculty of Social Psychology of Bishkek Humanitarian University.
For three years, Alla represented Kyrgyzstan in the Eurasian Women’s AIDS Network (EWNA) and is now a member of the Secretariat. She currently coordinates the Expert Feminist Council at Eurasian Network of People Who Use Drugs (ENPUD), where she will continue to support and strengthen narcofeminism. Alla said:
“Kyrgyzstan and other EECA countries face increasingly oppressive governments that restrict civil society, especially in harm reduction and advocacy. With this award and mentorship, I hope to strengthen women-led networks and activists facing violence and human rights violations. The mentorship will also support me in conducting a gender assessment of HIV services for women who use drugs in Kyrgyzstan, building community capacity, and fostering partnerships to support human rights defenders and enhance community-led programs.”
Sarah Whipple, Sacramento, California, USA
Sarah Whipple is an outreach worker for a needle exchange and a community organiser for a sex worker rights organisation in Sacramento, USA. Her work has included organising sex worker memorials and decriminalisation rallies, developing injection alternative kits with a national pipe distributor, running one of the most followed harm reduction education accounts on social media, and volunteering at community projects such as an autonomous encampment and nearby rural needle exchange. Sarah said:
“I deeply admire Jude Byrne’s legacy of fearless drug user activism and I am so excited to learn from mentors in the international harm reduction movement. One of my primary goals for the award is to develop a group that provides harm reduction resources to Sacramento’s LGBTQIA+ community. I also hope to develop skills in non-hierarchical leadership and resilience in the face of anti-harm reduction backlash.”
Special Recognition Award, Angela McBride, South Africa
Additionally, the judges have awarded a Special Recognition Award to Angela McBride, Executive Director of The South African Network of People Who Use Drugs (SANPUD), who will be receiving one-on-one mentoring sessions with a senior female global advocate to provide practical support and advice on specific challenges. Angela said:
“I’ve had the privilege of working for a community of people who use drugs in South Africa, who have faced some harsh realities but who have chosen to stand up and say no. No to hate, no to discrimination, no to violations, and yes to change, to harm reduction. Together we’ve formed a powerful community, still growing, but a lot stronger and more aware than we were.
“I am incredibly grateful for this opportunity and unbelievably thankful to the magnificent humans who I work alongside and have helped me be me, someone who supports her community with the love, kindness and compassion they deserve,” said Angie. “I am super excited to learn more about how I can become a better guide to my community and how to better navigate a forever changing and quite intimidating global environment.”
2023 Jude Byrne Award Recipients
Jessica Morales, Guatemala
Jessica is a dedicated activist and advocate based in Guatemala City who has been actively involved in various projects focused on human rights, drug policy, and the well-being of marginalised communities. She is currently working on a Global Fund project to improve the response to HIV. Speaking of receiving the award, she commented:
“My ultimate goal is to establish a community-based organisation in Guatemala that will strengthen advocacy efforts related to drug policy and the rights of people who use drugs. I firmly believe in the power of partnerships and aim to expand relationships, particularly with women’s organisations, and create a network of feminist anti-prohibitionists throughout Latin America.”
Kira Watson, Scotland
Kira Watson, based in Edinburgh, Scotland, has been involved in the harm reduction area for several years as a peer educator and activist. Currently employed by a harm reduction NGO in Scotland, Kira actively engages with individuals who use drugs, providing one-on-one support. She’s also a volunteer with the Nightlife Empowerment Network (NEWNet).
“I am thrilled to have been selected for this award. I am eager to learn more about policy and advocacy work from the mentors and gain new skills in community consultation and co-production. I ultimately aspire to develop a specific service for women who use drugs, inspired by the remarkable work of projects like Metzineres in Spain and Chemical Sisters in Italy.”
2022 Jude Byrne Award Recipients
Danielle Russell, Phoenix, Arizona, United States
A doctoral student at Arizona State University, Danielle is expected to graduate in Spring 2023. Her work is oriented towards community-based participatory action research and she is committed to health equity for people who use illicit drugs and mutual aid.
“My hopes for the mentorship program are to have support navigating the set-up and implementation of analytical drug testing services that are collectively owned by people who use drugs here in my community. There is rapid mobile laboratory testing available for everything from laundry mats to car washes (to maintain environmental compliance), so there is no reason people who use illicit drugs shouldn’t have access to potentially life-saving information that this kind of drug testing resource can provide. If we can have these analytical testing services available for a car wash, we should certainly have them available to protect people’s lives and bodies from harm. Additionally, I’m looking forward to, and am grateful for, the opportunity to learn from others with more experience outside of my community.”
“Drug contamination and the lack of transparency into drug quality/concentration/characterization is increasingly an issue here. Ultimately, I want us to have mobile, rapid turnaround drug testing services with all levels of analysis and data owned by people who use drugs.”
Yatie Jonet, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Yatie has harm reduction field expertise and is currently affiliated with the Persatuan Insaf Murni Malaysia as an Engagement Officer, a role she secured after taking steps to become an independent community advocate. More importantly, Yatie is a reliable and resourceful friend, a loud and vocal community advocate, a community mobilisor and human rights defender. She is a person who uses substances and has also experienced imprisonment and detention centres.
“I’m excited to take this opportunity to build my capacity and become self-equipped with the knowledge which will help me achieve my goals in the drug policy reform advocacy movement. I’m also excited to gain knowledge from field experts who can guide me to become a better community advocate.”
“I’m very interested in community-led research and would like to initiate a new research project from the community, for the community in supporting local, regional and international drug policy reform movements. I’m also hoping to build my personal capacity as a communicator, by learning to be extra vocal and to fearlessly advocate through social media platforms.”