In a published column for New Naratif, a co-founder of SPINN argues that building a community-based support network is essential for women and gender-diverse people who use drugs in Indonesia to share experiences without judgment and construct collective knowledge.
The author—who identifies as a survivor of gender-based violence, a woman who uses drugs, and a woman living with HIV—writes that the organization, formally known as Suar Perempuan Lingkar Napza Nusantara, arose from a personal need to avoid fighting battles alone or relying on others to define community priorities.
Inside the Bogor Healing Circles
Through SPINN, participants in Bogor have organized Healing Circles designed to build trust at an individual pace. One such session took place in late December 2025 as part of an ongoing community-based programme, bringing participants together to discuss encounters with services, experiences of violence, and hopes for the present and future.
Beyond Drug Use: Confronting Violence and Fear
The conversations held during these gatherings extend far beyond drug use. Participants discuss legal processes, arrests, physical and verbal abuse, sexual violence, and economic insecurity, alongside the fear and shame that frequently dictate whether a person seeks help. By hearing others describe similar hardships, participants often recognize broader patterns rather than treating isolated incidents as personal failings.
Program Incorporates Human Rights Education and Paralegal Knowledge
Alongside peer discussions, the broader programme incorporates education on human rights, harm reduction, sexual and reproductive health and rights, and paralegal knowledge for legal accompaniment. These sessions connect lived experiences with actionable information regarding safety, rights, and support access. Through this process, participants recognize that violations of their rights are not simply “what happens” when you are a woman who uses drugs, and that human rights do not depend on societal expectations of respectability.
Unequal Power Dynamics Shape Safety and Choices
Unequal power dynamics heavily influence the choices available to women in these communities. Control over housing, money, or physical movement by a partner or associate directly affects an individual’s ability to seek healthcare, report violence, or escape dangerous living situations. Safety is fundamentally shaped by these immediate relationships and living circumstances.
The Quantitative Evidence on Overdose and Violence
This dynamic aligns with broader public health research. Data collected from 731 cisgender women who injected drugs in Greater Jakarta and Bandung between 2014 and 2015 identified associations between non-fatal overdose and intimate-partner violence, police extortion, and police sexual violence.
