Who are the real victims of drug abuse? : an insight into secondary victimisation

Abstract

This study is a small contribution towards a better understanding of the ever growing phenomenon of drug abuse and addiction, with a focus on the effects felt and the support needed by the immediate relatives. As often happens with cases of drug abuse, the focus is directed at the actual abuser while the family is cast into the shadows from which they only emerge in order to provide support to the abuser. The questions posed in this study are as to what the drug abuser's family endures as a result of the habit as well as whether or not the help and support they receive is adequate and timely. The problems tackled in this study include various types of abuse including physical, emotional, verbal, sexual and financial abuse as well as the treatment the family receives once the abuse is known. The study also deals with the trauma relatives go through when a drug abuser is in contact with law enforcement and the criminal justice system, including incarceration as well as dealing with the stigma attached to drug abuse particularly in Malta. The study tackles various family members separately so as to make a distinction between the different problems faced by different relatives. This study uses a qualitative approach by means of in-depth interviews with male and female parents, siblings, partners and children of drug addicts as well as interviews with professionals from drug rehabilitation centres in Malta.