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BE SAFER 2024
About the Be Safer campaign
It is said that the needs of men engaged in chemsex are not best served by suggesting chemsex is universal. In fact, suggesting that it is universal runs the risk of giving the impression that it is both inevitable and impossible to escape. The truth is that for some gay men, chemsex is unlikely to be a problem. They engage in it occasionally and recreationally, maintaining the ability to disengage when they wish to.*
That being said, chemsex is not the same as a line of coke, dropping an E or sharing a tab of acid with friends. Crystal meth, GHB/ GBL and mephedrone are more powerful and addictive - and there was likely naivety when the drugs first emerged.
Harms from chemsex are complex and have been on the rise for several years. In London today, ambulance crews attend chemsex-related callouts every day. A&E departments treat 'G' overdose admissions weekly, and there's a chemsex-related death every month. There is also a generation of gay men going through the criminal justice system, unimaginable a decade ago.
"Be Safer" is our latest campaign to raise awareness of the harms of chemsex and the skills required to manage chemsex with less harm. Know the risks. Hook-up safer. Look out for each other.
