OAS – Mothers, drugs, jail: what to recommend?

By Marianna Orlandi, Ph.D. | February 11, 2016

The Organization of the American States (OAS) hosted an important event on women and drug-related crimes. Motherhood was its particular focus.

The meeting marked the release of a publication recommending policy reforms on women , drugs and incarceration: “Mujeres, políticas de drogas y enarcelamiento: una guía para la reforma de políticas en América Latina y el Caribe.” (“Women, drugs’ policies and detention: a guide for policy reform in Latin America and the Caribbean).

This guide is meant to be a helpful instrument for a better understanding – and treatment – of drug-related criminal acts committed by women. One of its proclaimed objectives is to better address the problem of mothers in jail and to protect the rights of their sons. However, the proposed recommendations for Governments, together with the presentation given by the roundtable speakers, pave the way to legitimate doubts.

Indeed, if the scope is to protect mothers (and sons, and families), why would Chapter VI of the guide – Mujeres embarazadas o con personas dependientes (Pregnant women or women with dependent persons) – explicitly recommend that detainee women “do not undergo pressure with reference to their sexual and reproductive health”?

Hopefully, to avoid that detainee mothers are pressured to have an abortion. More likely, however, the reference to “sexual and reproductive health” is a way to pressure those South American States that still protect life from the moment of conception: a pressure that is consistent with the agenda of the OAS Secretary General, Luis Almagro.

An additional fear is that behind this project on women is the campaign for a wider liberalization of drugs.

The manual describes the UN “war on drugs” as a complete failure. It uses the word “stigmatization” with reference to the punishment of drug-related crimes and reports data on its ineffectiveness. Also the OAS Secretary General, during his opening remarks, underlined, emphatically, these aspects.

A good reason for fearing that this event will be a further push towards a free market on drugs comes from the very recent move of one of the OAS Member States. In 2014, Uruguay was the first country in the world to completely legalize Marijuana. Since then, it has been labeled as an “experimental” country. Its decision has been praised by advocates of drug liberalization, who are now pushing for exporting it abroad. Where, then, if not in the world’s greatest narcotic market, Latin America?

If drug liberalization is the long-term goal, the OAS is far from protecting women, children or families. Its stand is curiously close, instead, to the suggestions of the UNFPA. Not long ago, with the aim of reducing world’s population, UNFPA criticized not only the laws protecting the unborn, but also the ones which would prevent teenagers’ use and abuse of drugs.

Worth noting: drug use by pregnant women can cause several birth defects, such as abnormalities of the brain, skull, face, eyes, heart, limbs, intestines, genitals, and urinary tract; and it may lead to miscarriage.

Finally, the reason why a gender-based approach should be adopted in the realm of drug-crimes remains obscure. Women are rarely at the head of criminal organizations, as was often mentioned in the report. But this does not mean that they are not acting illegally.

The generally non-violent character of drug crimes committed by women was equally mentioned. Selling a lethal dose to a teenager, however, is still enough to kill him.

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