National Women Touched By Addiction
Thursday, July 23, 2026
Stigma and the Road to Gender-Specific Treatment. Social attitudes compounded the problem. While male substance use was sometimes tolerated or treated as a public health issue, women who used drugs or alcohol faced harsher moral judgment, particularly mothers. By the 1920s, women who used substances were increasingly cast as selfish and unfit, a stigma that discouraged them from seeking help for decades.The opening of the Betty Ford Center in 1982 marked a turning point. Betty Ford's public disclosure of her own struggles with alcohol and painkillers gave national visibility to female addiction and demonstrated that recovery was possible at any social level. The center's early patient population was majority female, and its model influenced the growth of gender-specific programming across the treatment industry
History
Stigma and the Road to Gender-Specific Treatment. Social attitudes compounded the problem. While male substance use was sometimes tolerated or treated as a public health issue, women who used drugs or alcohol faced harsher moral judgment, particularly mothers. By the 1920s, women who used substances were increasingly cast as selfish and unfit, a stigma that discouraged them from seeking help for decades.The opening of the Betty Ford Center in 1982 marked a turning point. Betty Ford's public disclosure of her own struggles with alcohol and painkillers gave national visibility to female addiction and demonstrated that recovery was possible at any social level. The center's early patient population was majority female, and its model influenced the growth of gender-specific programming across the treatment industry
How It's Celebrated
National Women Touched By Addiction is observed by recognizing the importance of the day, learning about its background and significance, and sharing awareness with others through conversation and social media. Many people take time to reflect on the meaning of the observance and participate in relevant activities or community events.