Global Drug Policy Reformer Ruth Dreifuss to Speak at Inaugural Criminology Lecture
Madame Ruth Dreifuss, the former President of Switzerland, will deliver inaugural Department of Criminology Annual Lecture on Wednesday, 15 November 2023. The subject will be drug policy reform.
Renowned Swiss politician Ruth Dreifuss will deliver the inaugural Department of Criminology Annual Lecture at the University of Manchester on Wednesday, 15 November 2023.
Madame Dreifuss, the former President of Switzerland, will discuss her experience of reforming Swiss drug policy in the 1990s. This was in response to a high rate of HIV AIDS among people who inject drugs.
The health led and people centred approach pioneered by Madame Dreifuss has evolved into a diverse range of harm reduction programmes and decriminalisation strategies. What can the UK, currently experiencing record levels of drug related overdose and death, learn from Switzerland and other reforming countries?
Ruth Dreifuss is one of the twenty-six global leaders of the Geneva based Global Commission on Drugs. She has served as Secretary of the Swiss Labour Union Federation, and chaired the WHO commission and High-Level Panel reporting on public health, innovation, and intellectual property rights. She currently serves as a member of the International Commission Against the Death Penalty.
The event will be moderated by British Academy Global Professor Julia Buxton and will be the first in an annual series of keynote speeches, debates and symposia hosted by the Department of Criminology featuring influential scholars and policymakers in criminology and criminal justice reform. Registration for the event is now open and free to the public.
Find out more information about the event registration .