The drop-in-centres of the Youth Development Fund (YDF) hardly sees girls and women visitors. The fear of bieng stigmatised is thought to be holding them back from availing themselves of the services provided by the centres.
The YDF, a non-governmental organisation that has been at the forefront when it comes to addressing emerging youth issues has established two drop-in-centres- one in Thimphu and the other in Bumthang. The centres provide counselling and other help and support to vulnerable youths.
While a lot of needy boys and young men have frequented the drop-in-centres to seek help, women and girls seldom visited. Tshering Choki, a Manager with the YDF said women fear social stigma as they are more likely to face it than their male counterparts.
“There is less social support for women,” she said. However, Tshering Choki added that it is also because there are not many women who are alcohol and drug dependent.
The other reason, she says, is there is lack of awareness among the people on the services provided by the drop-in-centres. “In Thimphu, people think drop-in-centres are for people with addiction problems,” said the YDF manager.
This used be a case a few years ago but now anyone can visit including people who want to learn about youth related issues. “We provide services to everyone. Anyone can come in and avail our services.”
A coach with the Bhutan Football Federation,Karma Dema, visits the drop-in-centres in Thimphu sometimes. “I come here not because I am an addict but because I want to learn about the harmful effects of drugs and alcohol,” she said.
Such information, she said can be shared with families, which helps in reaching out to more vulnerable youths. “Until last year, there used to be regular meetings at the centre for women but it was discontinued later due to lack of women visitors,” added Karma Dema.
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