“Chemsex is the use of drugs in a sexual context,” says Dr Adam Bourne, Lecturer in Public Health at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine. Dr Bourne is part of the School’s Sigma Research group, which specialises in the behavioural and policy aspects of HIV and sexual health. The drug he is trying to rid himself free of is not just any drug, it’s part of a select range used by many in the room to have sex. More accurately, he’s here to stay clean. This man, along with many in the room, is here to get clean. He is up on the stage where many will follow suit - and many have preceded him - over the years. “After a nine-year relationship with crystal meth, I divorced three years ago,” says a man in his twenties, originating from Thailand. Upstairs, crowds of men drink and toast the end of another working today, oblivious to the discussions taking place below them. Once inside, they filter downstairs where seats and a stage await them for the night. Tonight almost 60 of them have gathered for discussion. Newcomers come and go, but all those with the courage to attend, benefit from this chance to air their troubles in an open forum with people just like them.
Once a month for almost two years, many of those here have been meeting to discuss an issue affecting their lives - and their health.