Mental health issues such as trauma, loneliness and isolation are the biggest chemsex-related concerns for LGBTQ+ people in London, according to a report from London Friend and LGBT HERO.
There are also significant barriers to accessing help, says Examining the drug, alcohol, and chemsex experiences of LGBTQ+ people and the healthcare staff supporting them, with 40 per cent of LGBTQ+ Londoners having never sought support and half unaware that chemsex-specific services even exist.
The report paints a ‘stark picture of unmet need’, the organisations say, and challenges common assumptions about chemsex. Survey respondents ‘consistently’ linked their drug use to coping with poor mental health, with chemsex ‘often rooted not just in risk-taking behaviour, but in unmet emotional and psychological needs’. Shame and stigma, meanwhile, were identified as major barriers to support, with many respondents stating that mainstream drug and alcohol services ‘do not understand LGBTQ+ lives’, leaving them feeling excluded and unable to engage.
Staff in drug treatment and sexual health services are ‘increasingly encountering complex chemsex-related needs, but often lack the capacity and coordination required to respond effectively’ the report says, with the findings highlighting a need for more ‘coordinated, culturally competent responses’ that are mental-health focused, peer-led and ‘reflect the realities of LGBTQ+ lives’. Mental health support needs to be integrated into all chemsex interventions, it adds, while mainstream services should invest in training to ensure they are ‘LGBTQ+ competent’. Coordination between sexual health, mental health and substance services also needs to be strengthened, and awareness and visibility levels improved.
‘People we spoke to expressed a need to have access to a wide range of intervention types including harm reduction, out of hours support, and more holistic opportunities to address their substance use issues,’ the document states. ‘They were especially clear about their desire for support to be LGBTQ+ specific and for the delivery of this to be by their LGBTQ+ peers, including those with lived experience of substance use issues.’
The survey of healthcare professionals found ‘a significant number’ of drug treatment staff reporting that they’d like additional training on chemsex substances. More than 40 per cent said they wanted more training on methamphetamine and GHB/GBL, while almost 50 per cent wanted more mephedrone training.
‘It’s clear that chemsex is often related to a range of complex issues, and that services need to do more to meet these holistically, especially through improved mental health support,’ said London Friend chief executive Monty Moncrieff. ‘Queer people are really clear in telling us they want to have better access to services run by and for their LGBTQ+ peers so there’s a real need to rethink how and where support is provided.’
Examining the drug, alcohol and chemsex experiences of LGBTQ+ people and the healthcare staff supporting them available here