Grant: Catalyst Grant: Moving Upstream - Sex, Gender, and Health Inequities

Women who are involved with substance use and the criminal justice system fall through the cracks of multiple sectors. Structural barriers are embedded within legal, healthcare, social services, housing, economic, and political systems, and these widen gaps through which women fall into a cycle of repeated compounding marginalization - especially women who are racialized, Indigenous, and 2SLTBQIA+. Despite the best efforts of various sectors to support women who have been affected by substance use and criminal justice system involvement, these populations have been failed by the unintended consequences of gender-blind policies and funding mechanisms. Policy action is required to address the root causes of health inequities: an intersectional sex-gender-race perspective is urgently needed to break this cycle and close the gaps across multiple sectors. Our team from Toronto Metropolitan University has joined with partners representing sectors including housing, substance use, health, social services, and justice. Together with women with lived experience, we will examine the policies and legislation affecting the lives of women who have been involved with substance use and the criminal justice system. We will explore current and past legislation and policies to identify the unintended consequences of multiple cross-sector policies affecting the lives of these women - and potential opportunities for positive change.