Gisselli, Mariana and Lizbeth do not know each other, however, they have shared the same problems: substance dependence, the gender violence they have suffered when seeking support to treat their disorder, and the lack of access to decent treatment.
In Ecatepec, abuses and bad practices have become common resources in private addiction rehabilitation centers, also known as annexes.
Gisselli Ruíz is 22 years old and has been annexed three times to treat her alcohol and marijuana use. In none of the municipal centers, where she was hospitalized, did she find a solution to cut her dependency.
As regularly happens, when she was still a minor and against her will, Gisselli was annexed at 16. Observing the abuse and the power that some of the annex’s patients had to manage the resources of the place, she decided to escape.
“There were people taking drugs, and anyone could get in. We cooperated to buy pot from the people who entered”.
A year later, Gisselli was annexed again, as part of a deal with the police officers who arrested her for carrying more than the legal weight of marijuana. She and another girl were the only women residing in the co-ed center.
“I suffered harassment and many strong situations. When I was sweeping, they passed by and told me how good I looked doing it, I didn’t say anything because I was surrounded by only men”.
In order to get out, Gisselli threatened the godfather (coordinator) to tell about the irregularities he saw, after which they released her. She left her third annex at 19. Currently, the young woman continues to consume the same substances.
Being a mother and addict
Mariana is a single mother of three girls at 34 years old. She thought about seeking help to treat her alcoholism and thus become what she considers “a good mother.” By her own decision, she entered an annex in Ecatepec.
Throughout the process to treat her addiction, Mariana was able to identify that her problem originated from the sexual abuse she suffered as a child.
Despite this, she recounts that when she sought help she found psychological violence, such as when her godmother (in charge of her rehabilitation) took off the clothes she was wearing “and gave me nothing more than a few old rags because she told me that women like me only they sought to provoke men.”
After a month of enduring undignified treatment, Mariana made the decision to leave on her own footing, rehabilitate herself and get away from her daughters until she was completely sober. Given this, her mother assumed the responsibility of taking care of her.
When my daughters went to visit me in the annex, I was very sad when they asked me if they fed me well. They did not know that he slept on the floor and that he ate spoiled things”.
Currently, Mariana stays away from her daughters because of her addiction.
replicated violence
Lizbeth Martínez is 43 years old, since she was 28 she considered herself addicted to alcohol and other drugs. After going through various annexes and considering herself cured, she became a godmother in centers in Ecatepec.
Despite being the victim of abuse in person, Lizbeth acknowledges that she replicated such behavior with other women who sought support. An example of this was what happened with those who had children while breastfeeding, since they were not allowed to feed them.
“We emphasized to them that they should have thought about it before taking drugs or being bastards,” she affirms and adds: “There are people who resent it, because they tell you that you are a bad mother, an asshole, an addict and a vile piece of shit. , but it worked for me because I have a strong character”.
Lizbeth also acknowledges that, during her time as godmother, psychological, emotional and/or physical violence was frequent in the annexes.
trauma and addiction
Corina Giacomello, a researcher at the Institute for Legal Research of the Autonomous University of Chiapas, explains that violence is a recurring element in the life stories of women with substance dependence.
“In the case of women, it is a way of coping with pain, seeking security or trying to escape from the situation in which they are experiencing,” she says.
Giacomello refers that the use of substances generally occurs during adolescence, where drugs become a resource to face traumatic situations, including gender-based violence.
Claudia Rafful, an academic at UNAM’s Faculty of Psychology, details that for some women, the first contact with drugs was through their partners.
“There are cases of women who do not know how to inject themselves, so the man can control what and how much he consumes,” he says.
no regulation
Rafful indicates that the ideal treatment to address addictions in women must have a gender perspective, but more importantly, it must be based on evidence; this does not happen in annexes.
In such centers, forced entry is a common practice. They only need to cover fees of around 3,000 pesos for the transfer, and 1,500 a week for 6, 9 and up to 12 months of their stay (the time they are admitted depends on the godparents), in addition to the delivery of a pantry with rice or beans, according to a survey, by telephone, carried out by El Economista in annexes of Ecatepec.
Once inside, communication with their relatives is prohibited for at least the first month, while, in some annexes, the only way to find out their status is through letters controlled by those in charge of the centers.
Group meetings, the teaching of the Bible and a general medical examination per week, is the “treatment” implemented in these places. In the best of cases, a psychologist goes to give collective therapy from time to time.
Rafful assures that a change in the education of service providers and public policies against drugs is necessary, as well as having treatments with a gender perspective.
