Fear of the police means drug users at Aussie festivals may not seek help

Embargoed until: Publicly released: 2022-05-24 03:00

Australia; NSW; VIC

Fear of police attention is the number one reason Aussie music festivalgoers choose not to seek help for issues associated with drug use, according to Aussie researchers. The team surveyed 1,229 people across six festivals in 2019 and 2020 on how they would respond to a hypothetical situation where they or a friend became unwell. Most reported more than one barrier to seeking help, with the most common being a fear of the police getting involved (32.7 per cent). Next was not knowing where to find help (20.6 per cent), followed by not knowing how unwell someone might be (17.2 per cent), and concern about friends or relatives finding out (15.3 per cent). People of diverse sexuality and those who used drugs that day were the most afraid of the police. Men, gender-diverse people, and people who used drugs that day were more likely to report concerns about friends or relatives finding out.

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Journal/
conference: Drug and Alcohol Review

Research:Paper

Organisation/s: National Drug and Alcohol Research Centre (NDARC), The University of New South Wales, RMIT University

Funder: AP has received a untied educational grant from Seqirus and Mundipharma for the study of opioid medications. AP is supported by an NHMRC Investigator Fellowship (#1174630). JB is supported by an NHMRC Investigator Grant (#1196560). All other researchers had no interests to declare.

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