Applied communitarian ethics for harm reduction: promoting a dialogue within the field

Abstract

This piece responds to critical points raised in commentaries on our 2005 HRD paper on the topic of harm reduction ethics, and clarifies other aspects of our original arguments that were misinterpreted. In our view, the goal of ethical engagement in harm reduction is not necessarily the production of an agreed moral framework, but instead reflection and awareness raising around the various values and beliefs underlying harm reduction, and consideration of how these influence policy, practice and research decisions and outcomes. This ‘discursive authenticity’ as Hathaway has called it, can help to define a new territory of authority for drug users as participants in harm reduction policy, practice and research.