About

Upon completion of a Masters degree in Criminology, I successfully won a Vice-Chancellor's PhD studentship. My research project is a mixed method study using innovative methods such as the Life in Recovery survey and Photovoice, and is focused on women who experience stigma around addiction recovery as a social justice issue in the UK, Sweden and the Balkans.

I have been working in the recovery and drug policy field for almost ten years and carried different national and regional projects which aim to explore and improve the situation of people in recovery and those who are still struggling with addiction and facing multiple disadvantage experiences, a combination of problems including substance use disorders, crime and mental health issues. My research and work revolves around recovery pathways, stigma attached to addiction, building communities, recovery cities and recovery capital, and I co-authored a number of papers based on the life in recovery research.

I have led and been involved in a number of research projects, including global consultations for the UNGASS (UN General Special Session on Drugs) and five large Balkan region research projects: Actors in the addiction recovery field (2015), the Life in Recovery research (2018), two pieces of research on public opinion around addiction (2017 and 2019), and stigma around addiction among professionals (2020).

I am involved in the work of two major umbrella organisations, World Federation Against Drugs (WFAD) and the European Network for Prevention, Treatment and Recovery (EURAD) as well as the grassroots recovery organisation Celebrate Recovery.

I work as a Project Manager and Regional Project Coordinator for the Balkan Choose Recovery project which is based on social justice and aims to increase the possibilities for marginalised groups to live as equal and contributing members of society and to decrease the number of vulnerable people who enter into marginalisation.

I am a member of the Gender Working Group and Secretary General of Recovered Users Network within WFAD and we aim to improve the position of people in recovery, women and children from around the world.

Thesis title

Stigma around addiction recovery- a social justice issue

Supervisor/s

• Professor David Best
• Valeria Abreu Minero

Qualifications

• MSc, Criminology, University of Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina
• BA (Hons), Social Work, University of Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina