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Women who use drugs

Introducing the 2026 Jude Byrne Emerging Female Leader Award Winners

INPUD and the International Network on Health and Hepatitis in Substance Users (INHSU) are proud to announce this year’s recipients of the Jude Byrne Emerging Female Leader Award: Yarelix Estrada and Rita Musa! Now in its fifth year, the Jude Byrne Award is a joint initiative between INPUD and INHSU that honours the legacy of legendary drug user activist Jude… Read More »Introducing the 2026 Jude Byrne Emerging Female Leader Award Winners

Welcome to INWUD: Relaunch of the International Network of Women who Use Drugs

The International Network of Women who Use Drugs (INWUD) has relaunched! INWUD is a global network of women who use drugs, drawing power from lived and living experience and the ongoing, gendered struggle against the war on drugs. INWUD aims to provide a women-only safe space for engaging in global advocacy, inclusive of all women and gender non-conforming people. In… Read More »Welcome to INWUD: Relaunch of the International Network of Women who Use Drugs

Learnings from the Jude Byrne Emerging Female Leader Award

This resource shares key learnings from the Jude Byrne Emerging Female Leader Award, a programme empowering women who use drugs through mentorship, leadership development and community advocacy. The Jude Byrne Emerging Female Leader Award honours the memory of the legendary drug user advocate Jude Byrne. Established in 2022 by the International Network of People Who Use Drugs (INPUD) and the… Read More »Learnings from the Jude Byrne Emerging Female Leader Award

INPUD is hiring Gender Focal Point for INWUD

21 June 2023 With the support from Love Alliance, INPUD is seeking to support a Gender Focal Point to increase the capacity of women who use drugs and the International Network of Women who Use Drugs (INWUD). The Gender Focal Point will initiate and mobilise online engagement with the community of women who use drugs, coordinate online events and engage… Read More »INPUD is hiring Gender Focal Point for INWUD

Second Annual Jude Byrne Award Recognises Outstanding Emerging Female Leaders

We are excited to announce the recipients of the second annual Jude Byrne Emerging Female Leader Award for 2023 are Jessica Morales from Guatemala and Kira Watson from Scotland. The award is dedicated to honouring the memory of Jude Byrne – a fearless drug user activist who fought tirelessly for the rights of people who use drugs. The award is… Read More »Second Annual Jude Byrne Award Recognises Outstanding Emerging Female Leaders

My case story: Rita Nyambura

Born in 1999 in Dagoretti, Nairobi Kenya, I was abandoned and left under the care of MY grandmother who unlike majority of grandparents who love care and treasure their grandchildren, MY case was different since I was mistreated and malnourished by my maternal grandmother. My name is Rita Nyambura and this is my Recovery story. In 2012 at the age… Read More »My case story: Rita Nyambura

Magic green medicine

Hi there! My name is Marina, I am here to tell you the history of how Cannabis changed the course of my life. I grew up in a rural and remote area called Colonia Aurora, which has a very small population. We had a pharmacy at home and very early in my life my father taught me that the medicine… Read More »Magic green medicine

My name is Natalie Jacobs, and this is my experience as a substance user.

This will tell you where I was and where I am now. I started using crystal methamphetamine, also known as known “TIK,” when I was 27 years old. I had recently lost my mother, who meant the world to me and was my everything. My mother’s death seemed like the center of my universe had been taken from my heart… Read More »My name is Natalie Jacobs, and this is my experience as a substance user.