ssh-chemsex-study-final-main-report

6. THE ROLE OF
DRUGS IN HIV/STI
TRANSMISSION RISK
BEHAVIOUR
As discussed in previous chapters, drugs played a very
important role in the sexual and social lives of many of the men
interviewed. They facilitated sexual pleasure and longevity of
sexual contact, and could be used to overcome a variety of
sexual confidence or anxiety related issues. However, section
1.2 briefly described the media and community concern that
chemsex may be a driver of sexual risk behaviours and, at least
in part, a contributor to HIV incidence among MSM in London.
As such, a significant proportion of the interviews were devoted
to considering sexual behaviours that might increase the
likelihood of HIV or other STI transmission.
A crucial stage in understanding the specific role that drugs
play is acknowledging and understanding men’s broader
perception of risk and their history of sexual risk-taking. All
participants had experience of sex prior to their first use of
chemsex related drugs and had means of managing the risk
of HIV or STI transmission that were specific to their personal
circumstances. This chapter describes the ways in which drugs
impacted on sexual risk behaviour, including how their presence
in sexual settings facilitated the rationalisation of risks that had
already been taken. We begin by describing the perceptions
and experiences of a group of men among whom unprotected
anal intercourse (UAI) was both desired and normative, however
drugs seemingly played only a limited role in their behaviour.
The Chemsex Study 49