GamCare, a problem gambling support charity in the UK, revealed that the number of women accessing gambling support in the UK has risen by 6% over the last year.
The charity organisation, which currently provides professionals with various training sessions on gambling, also found that the majority of participants – a stunning 85% – have actually improved their understanding of gambling-related harm and their skills to identify women who need treatment or support for their compulsive gambling habits. The figure was provided by inFocus Consulting following an independent evaluation.
The Women’s Programme of GamCare, which is aimed at initiating significant systemic change across research, treatment and policy in order to address the poor representation of women seeking support and accessing professional treatment for their gambling addiction in England, Scotland and Wales, is now entering its third year. As the gambling charity organisation has previously revealed, its Women’s Programme brings together some specialists with vast experience in multiple sectors to train other professionals on issues associated with gambling addiction and gambling-related harm to raise awareness of the support services that currently exist to help female gamblers in the UK.
Over the last year, a total of 918 healthcare organisations in the UK have received training from GamCare. The charity also claims that a sweeping 97% of healthcare professionals have started understanding how women can be affected by gambling addiction, while 96% of the trained professionals claiming they could better identify a woman facing the negative effects of gambling-related harm after they completed their training.
About 1 Million Women in the UK Currently at Risk of Gambling-Related Harm
Following the success of the Women’s Programme, GamCare hopes to see the aforementioned figures improve, as gambling issues faced by women are still gathering attention from the wider public.
Considering the fact there are currently about 1 million British women who are exposed at risk of being affected by gambling-related harm, GamCare believes it is extremely important for females residents of the country to have access to support services to help them deal with the negative effects they could be facing as a result of gambling addiction.
The British gambling charity organisation has cited some reports claiming that women may be disproportionately affected by gambling-related harm, such as mental health issues, financial problems, relationship issues, etc.
GamCare believes that the Programme is even more successful because the training moved online after the Covid-19 pandemic outbreak. The fact training was held online, however, helped the gambling charity increase the programme’s reach, with many women benefitting from improved access to problem gambling treatment and support services.
As part of the charity’s efforts to increase access to professional support, the Women’s Programme has backed the development of a women-only support group and chat room. In the future, the programme will continue training professionals from organisations that operate in currently poorly represented sectors, including youth services and social care, because such organisations are often closer to women who are at risk of facing gambling-related harm or are already experiencing the negative effects of problem gambling.
- Author
Daniel Williams
