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Rutendo Gomwe
Herald Correspondent
Journalists have been challenged to report accurately and use the correct terminology so they do not discriminate against and stigmatise drug abuse victims.
Speaking to members of the media on the sidelines of Harm reduction capacity building workshop for journalists held in Harare yesterday, the director of Zimbabwe Civil Liberties and Drug Network Mr Wilson Box said there is need to influence policy change when reporting issues to do with drug use.
“It is important for journalists to understand what’s really happening in the world of people who use and inject drugs.
“We have read bizarre stories and even the language some journalists use, it is a language that discriminates against and stigmatises people who use drugs. Journalists are pillars of the society in terms of educating the nation. It is important for them to understand the world of people who use drugs.
“We did a situational analysis in five provinces. We are losing a generation and our mental health institutions state that one out of eight patients are people who use injected drugs. The country should not take this with kid gloves.
“It is high time for everyone, the journalists, community, our policy makers and leaders, to take this issue seriously and also give the attention it deserves because there’s a lot of illicit drug use amongst young people. As a nation we should focus on being a national emergency,” he said.
He said a call to end the scourge of drug and substance abuse is growing louder by day and there is a need to put in rehabilitation centres.
“We need to look at our policies especially the Dangerous Drugs Act and the Criminal Code. Those two laws criminalise people who use drugs.
“The country needs to look at this issue as a public health issue whereby the authority puts at least rehabilitation centres in each ten provinces.
“There is need for that and also let us stop criminalising those using drugs but put in place a public health approach.”
A victim of drug abuse, a lady only identified as Ashley who is in the process of quitting drugs, said due to preconceptions, occasionally people would mistake them for burglars.
“The main challenge is that anytime a break-in occurs or there is a pickpocketing incident, people are quick to point finger at drug addicts. Due to these stereotypes, we often receive physical abuse for crimes we didn’t commit,” she said.
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