NEW DELHI: The Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment will train people from the transgender community of around 10 states on how to fight drug abuse during a two-day-long training period in the capital.
The training conducted by the National Institute of Social Defence (NISD) will see the individuals involved run subsequent courses to reach out to people in their own states. According to NISD, peer training would further strengthen the model.
The course would be run as a part of the Centre’s national action plan on drug demand reduction. “As of now, we have decided to run a training programme for transgender people from 10 states on how to fight drug abuse and identify transgender people who may have fallen victim to it. The programme is likely to be held on September 12 and September 13. Following the course, the representatives will hold training sessions in their respective states to reach out to a large number of people. We will be giving them the modules which can then be emulated,” said an NISD official.
After the Centre came out with the report ‘Prevalence and Extent of Substance Use in India’ earlier this year, AIIMS’s National Drug Dependence Treatment Centre is currently working on another report on the prevalence of substance abuse among different vulnerable groups which also includes transgender persons.