Drug abuse in Pakistan - United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime

INTERVIEWS WITH DRUG ABUSERS
19% respectively for treatment and prison addicts).
Street addicts were far more likely to report liv<strong>in</strong>g
alone (22%) that those <strong>in</strong> treatment (3%) or prison
(9%).
Demographics—education
and employment
On average, respondents reported hav<strong>in</strong>g six years
of education. However, this varied by sample group
with the treatment attendees report<strong>in</strong>g considerably
more time on average <strong>in</strong> education (7.7 years) as
compared to the street group (4.8 years) and the
prison sample (4.5 years). This f<strong>in</strong>d<strong>in</strong>g is reflected <strong>in</strong>
an analysis of those respondents that report no formal
education, which represents only 14% of the
treatment sample, but 28% of the street sample and
40% of the prison sample; the figure for no formal
education <strong>in</strong> the sample as a whole is 26%. Overall,
the treatment sample appears considerably better
educated than the other two groups, with nearly half
(46%) report<strong>in</strong>g 10 years <strong>in</strong> education compared with
similar status reported by 17% of street addicts and
21% of the prison sample. The prison sample
appears the least well educated but conta<strong>in</strong>s a significant
m<strong>in</strong>ority, about a quarter of respondents,
with a high educational level (<strong>in</strong> terms of years). The
street sample, although closer to the prison sample
<strong>in</strong> terms of overall exposure to education, is less
polarized.
In table 13 data on “usual type” of employment are
presented. The treatment group appears overall
more affluent that the other two samples and is
more likely to report <strong>in</strong>volvement <strong>in</strong> “bus<strong>in</strong>ess” and
less likely to report “no usual employment” or
“unskilled labour<strong>in</strong>g”. When asked about actual
employment over the proceed<strong>in</strong>g year (or, where
relevant, the year before enter<strong>in</strong>g treatment or
prison), nearly half the respondents (43%) reported
they had been unemployed <strong>in</strong> this period. Street
addicts were more likely to report this than members
of the treatment or prison samples (56%, compared
to 39% and 36% for treatment and prison samples
respectively). Of the whole sample, 26%
reported full time employment <strong>in</strong> this period.
Treatment attendees reported this most often at
38%, compared with 27% of prison attendees and
11% of the street sample.
In the three months before <strong>in</strong>terview (or, where relevant,
enter<strong>in</strong>g treatment or prison), 66% of all
respondents had been unemployed for some part of
this period. Of these who were unemployed at some
po<strong>in</strong>t <strong>in</strong> the three months, the majority (70%) had
been unemployed for the whole period. Aga<strong>in</strong> the
street sample most commonly reported unemployment
<strong>in</strong> this period (83%) compared to 55% of treatment
attendees and 66% of the prison sample.
Treatment contact
As an important part of this study was to look at the
overlap between the different populations of drug
users studied, all respondents were asked about
their experience of treatment (and prison) attendance.
Previous contact with drug treatment facilities
was relatively high among the prison and street
Table 13.
Usual type of employment (percentage by sample groups)
Category Treatment Street Prison All
Professional 11 10 1 8
Clerical 6 2 2 4
Bus<strong>in</strong>ess 25 9 12 16
Agriculture 9 3 3 5
Skilled labourer 24 29 34 28
Unskilled labourer 8 23 32 19
Student 2 1 2 3
None 8 18 7 11
Other 7 5 7 6
25