There are numerous gender perspectives on alcohol and drug use and problems related to such use.

Some of the perspectives available are:

Production by women: In many developing countries, the production and sale of alcohol is an activity by the women of the village, both by tradition and because alcohol sale can give income to women in lack of other alternatives.

Sex trafficking: Alcohol and drug use is often closely linked to sex trafficking. Female sex workers resort to substance abuse to get through the day, male customers drink or take drugs to get courage and many meetings between sex workers and customers take place in drinking venues.

Women suffer: People say that “he has an alcohol problem” when a man is drinking in excess. Often it would be more correct to say that “he has alcohol, and she has the problems”. In all corners of the world women suffer from the drinking habits of their husbands, fathers, brothers, sons, neighbours etc. Domestic violence or gender based violence is often linked to excessive drinking or drug taking.

Women drinking less: Gender roles have great impact on an individual’s drinking habits, sometimes promoting drinking, in other cases limiting the alcohol consumption. Traditionally women have been drinking less than men in almost all cultures, countries and historic situations. This is still the case in large parts of the world, where the average consumption among women is very low and with large proportions of the female population not drinking at all.

Symbol of masculinity: On the other hand, male gender roles and images of strength and masculinity are closely related to drinking. To be a man is equal to drinking, and to be a real man is symbolized by heavy drinking. Rude behaviour by drunken men is by tradition accepted and forgiven in many cultures.

Risk factor for young men: Acute problems related to alcohol intoxication and drunken behaviour are in many countries much more prevalent among young men than in any other population group. Alcohol seem to be a major reason for severe accidents and early deaths among young men in many countries.

Women's drinking habits are changing: A number of Western countries, and increasingly also some developing countries, have over the last years experienced drastic changes in alcohol consumption among young women, either the whole population or in more specific segments among females. This inevitably leads to increased overall consumption and alcohol-related problems. In other words, women tend to adopt also the more dangerous elements of the image of masculinity. This development has occurred parallel to change in gender roles, more women working outside the household, economic independence etc.

Advertising towards men: Alcohol marketing, which is increasing rapidly in volume with the growing globalization of the market, has mainly been targeted at men and in particular young men. This can easily be seen in advertisements, TV ads and billboards which to a large extent have been focusing on sex, masculinity, strength, sports etc. There is good reason to believe that this may change, as large groups of young women are now entering into the education system, the formal work life and the formal economy. Young, educated, independent women with their own income will be a very interesting target group for the multinational alcohol producers, especially because these women will have a low alcohol consumption level from the outset. The potential is, in other words, gigantic. Maybe we can expect the same to happen as we saw with tobacco smoking in the 60s, when the tobacco companies changed marketing strategy and set out to conquer the young female population. Which they did very successfully.

Differences in physiology: There are two physiological facts about females that have to be taken into consideration. One is that the female body is more vulnerable than men to the toxic effects of alcohol. This means that if the consumption level is equal between men and women in a given group, the alcohol-related harm will be greater among the females.

The other factor is related to pregnancies. There is growing evidence that also small amounts of alcohol may severely harm the foetus, especially during the first weeks of the pregnancy. Often the mother will not know she is pregnant during this period and not yet have changed her habits to adapt to the new reality. This makes a general increase in young women’s alcohol consumption dangerous. The prevalence of FAS (Foetal Alcohol Syndrome) among newborn babies is alarmingly high in some countries and populations groups. South Africa has the highest reported rate of FAS with 46-75 per 1000 births; compared with USA with 0,05-2,0 per 1000 births.

Information has been sourced and additionally can be found at the ADD website.