Women in prison with alcohol problems: Why gender-responsive policies matter

摘要

The aim of this article is to show the results of alcohol consumption in a sample of female inmates and to reflect on the gaps existing regarding the issue of women with alcohol problems from a public policy and gender perspective in Mexico.A descriptive retrospective study was carried out in a non-probabilistic convenience sample of 213 women. Ninety-one percent of the women reported having tried alcohol at some time in their lives and 19.7% qualified for alcohol dependence on three or more criteria. Women had important health problems associated with alcohol consumption: gastritis, malnutrition, and blood pressure problems. One-third of the sampled women used alcohol while pregnant. More than a half were experiencing a major depressive episode.It is important to modify public policies so that women in general and marginalized women in particular have access to mental health services and addictions.