The Other Ireland

Visualizing Intersectional Stigma Experiences of People Who Use Drugs Using Photovoice

Datos Bibliográficos

ID17534654
AutoresNicole Miller (0000-0002-5937-1629, University of West London, autor de correspondencia), Raychelle Baffo (0009-0004-6090-9125, University of West London), Lucy Louise Clarke (0009-0000-5991-4120, University of West London), Greg Los (0000-0002-9455-2687, University of West London), Andy O’Hara (Union for Improved Services Communication and Education (UISCE), Dublin, Republic of Ireland)
Año2026
Fecha de publicación2026-04-15
Peer ReviewedSí
Open AccessSí
TipoARTICLE
RevistaContemporary Drug Problems (JOURNAL)
Identificadores de la revistaISSN: 0091-4509 • E-ISSN: 2163-1808
EditorialSAGE Publishing (PUBLISHER • US)
DOI10.1177/00914509261440952
OpenAlexW7154522529
IdiomaEN
Referencias citadas64

Stigma towards People Who Use Drugs (PWUD) is reinforced through social structures and intersectional identities (e.g., gender, race, class). This often manifests as PWUD being The Other in society. This study aimed to explore how stigma manifests within the community environment using Community-Based Participatory Research framework and photovoice. Peer advocates (n = 15) from various Irish community-based organizations were trained in the photovoice technique to capture experiences of stigma. A series of seven focus group interviews were conducted. Photographs were analyzed using visual analysis, and interview data were analyzed using deductive codebook Thematic Analysis informed by Intersectional Stigma frameworks. The findings identified three major themes that demonstrate the multiple pathways through which social structures are used to reinforce stigma across intersectional identities possessed by PWUD . Peers experienced class-based discrimination in the accommodation sector, and urban hostile architecture reinforced internalized stigma for those who were unhoused . Being unhoused and unemployed was perceived to justify social rejection, public aggression, and violence towards PWUD. Peers described being unfairly targeted by police based on living in economically deprived neighborhoods. Structural stigma was evident in strict rules for entry into mental health clinics and was reinforced based on class and limited income . False complaints to family and social services appeared to justify police surveillance and invasion of privacy of woman identified peers. Stigma campaigns should account for the nuances and additive effects of intersectional identity, with an emphasis on gender and class of PWUD. Health professionals providing mental health services would benefit from reflexivity to explore how their position of power relates to the therapeutic process

Citizen journalism · Focus group · Intersectionality · Mental health · Mental illness · Photovoice · Reflexivity · Stigma (botany) · Thematic analysis · HIV, Drug Use, Sexual Risk · Homelessness and Social Issues · Substance Abuse Treatment and Outcomes