Chemsex in Lisbon? Self-Reflexivity to Uncover the Scene and Discuss the Creation of Community-Led Harm Reduction Responses Targeting Chemsex Practitioners

Abstract

This essay is based in a self-reflexive collective process and intends to present the chemsex scene in Lisbon and harm reduction responses implemented to address the needs of chemsex practitioners. The analysis considered professional experiences, participant observation, literature review of the relevant data in Portugal and autoethnographic data from a chemsex practitioner and peer educator. This essay aims to present the community-led creation of a transdisciplinary collaborative network able to assess and respond to chemsex-related risks in Lisbon. Specifically, we aim to: (i) present the chemsex scenes in Lisbon; (ii) discuss the setting up and preliminary results of a collaborative network and harm reduction responses targeting chemsex practitioners. The work implemented in Lisbon demonstrates that chemsex is a global trend with localized idiosyncrasies that must be addressed when designing local tailored interventions. It also reiterated that harm reduction organizations are in a privileged position to detect, monitor and respond to emerging trends at local level. Moreover, the work implemented in Lisbon demonstrated that transdisciplinary collaborative networks, involving communities—chemsex practitioners, gay-friendly and queer venues and collectives—and professionals working in the fields of intersection of chemsex (drugs, sexual health, mental health, gender diversity, gender-based violence), can be effective in the local early detection and response to chemsex-related risks.

Web-Based Harm Reduction Intervention for Chemsex in Men Who Have Sex With Men: Randomized Controlled Trial

“…Another important benefit of the current study is that the intervention was found to reduce the participants’ intention to have chemsex and their actual engagement in chemsex. Given that chemsex tends to be hidden and private and that those who practice chemsex are difficult to reach [ 37 ], eHealth interventions can provide MSM with a private, anonymous, and easily accessible platform offering supportive care and useful information. The current study provides empirical evidence for governments, health authorities, and other stakeholders to put more resources into delivering chemsex-preventive interventions and care using online platforms.…”

Needs and experiences of people practising chemsex with support services: toward chemsex-affirmative interventions

“…The participants' reflections on the support resources are important for orienting the discussion on the intervention practices that should be put in place for people practising chemsex. Presently, the scientific literature on this question mostly focusses on recommendations directly related to the repercussions of chemsex [22,23] or more recently on the narratives of community organization practices [23,25,32]. We are proposing to analyze the results presented above by making connections with affirmative intervention practices, which seem to be a promising approach for this population.…”

“…Given the highly defined context of this research, limited to people who use methamphetamine in the context of chemsex in Quebec, we must underline that fact that it is difficult to transfer these study results given the limited parameters of the sample. Additional research, that takes into account certain local cultural specificities related to chemsex, in particular with respect to the psychoactive substances used by the community, and associated practices [32], should be conducted in order to develop a better grasp of the transversal needs of people practising chemsex.…”

Experience of deprivation of liberty: Comparative analysis of symbols of graffity in a child psychiatric ward and in prisons

“…Úgy tűnik, hogy ez a szükséglet (autoagresszív önkifejezés) az adoleszcens évekre jellemző, a zenei és szubkulturális aláfestés pedig mindig változik. Kvalitatív kutatások szerint a szubkulturális önkárosítás összefüggésbe hozható a drogfogyasztással, a gender-diverzitással, a társadalmi nemhez kötött erőszakkal (gender-based violence), valamint a chemsexszel (Pires, Gomes, Caldas & Cunha, 2022). A chemsex a szintetikus kábítószerek és a szexuális élet együttes élvezetét és az azzal kapcsolatos életstílust jelenti.…”