Table 2.
Chemsex* behaviour and drug used, among 161 MSM who reported non-consensual sexual experience† and 730 MSM who did not, in Amsterdam, the Netherlands between August 2018 and August 2019
| Variables | Non-consensual sexual experience†, yes n=161 (18.1%), n (%) | Non-consensual sexual experience†, no n=730 (81.9%), n (%) | P value | Total n=891 (%), n (%) |
| Median age (IQR), years | 33 (25–46) | 40 (30–50) | <0.001 | 39 (30–50) |
| Age categories, years (missing n=2) | <0.001 | |||
| ≤24 | 36 (22.4) | 62 (8.5) | 98 (11.0) | |
| 25–34 | 49 (30.4) | 197 (27.0) | 246 (27.6) | |
| 35–44 | 29 (18.0) | 175 (24.0) | 204 (22.9) | |
| 45–54 | 34 (21.1) | 196 (26.8) | 230 (25.8) | |
| 55–64 | 11 (6.8) | 82 (11.2) | 93 (10.4) | |
| ≥65 | 2 (1.2) | 18 (2.5) | 20 (2.2) | |
| Sex in <6 months with | 0.003 | |||
| Men | 141 (87.6) | 689 (94.4) | 830 (93.2) | |
| Both men and women | 20 (12.4) | 41 (5.6) | 61 (6.8) | |
| Residency (missing n=1) | 0.729 | |||
| Amsterdam | 78 (48.4) | 334 (45.8) | 412 (46.3) | |
| Outside of Amsterdam | 81 (50.3) | 381 (52.3) | 462 (51.9) | |
| Abroad | 2 (1.2) | 14 (1.9) | 16 (1.8) | |
| STI/HIV test in the last year | 0.561 | |||
| No | 30 (18.6) | 161 (22.1) | 191 (21.4) | |
| Yes, at the Public Health Service of Amsterdam | 50 (31.1) | 204 (27.9) | 254 (28.5) | |
| Yes, somewhere else | 81 (50.3) | 365 (50.0) | 446 (50.1) | |
| Chemsex* <6 months | 58 (36.0) | 215 (29.5) | 0.109 | 273 (30.6) |
| GHB/GBL (G) use during sex <6 months | 53 (32.9) | 200 (27.4) | 0.176 | 253 (28.4) |
| Frequency | 0.053 | |||
| Once per month or less | 22/53 (41.5) | 120/200 (60.0) | 142/253 (56.1) | |
| 2–4 per month | 23/53 (43.4) | 67/200 (33.5) | 90/253 (35.6) | |
| 2–3 a week | 4/53 (7.5) | 7/200 (3.5) | 11/253 (4.3) | |
| ≥4 a week | 4/53 (7.5) | 6/200 (3.0) | 10/253 (4.0) | |
| Crystal methamphetamine (C) use during sex <6 months | 25 (15.5) | 62 (8.5) | 0.009 | 87 (9.8) |
| Frequency | 0.434 | |||
| Once per month or less | 14/25 (56.0) | 46/62 (74.2) | 60/87 (69.0) | |
| 2–4 per month | 8/25 (32.0) | 12/62 (19.4) | 20/87 (23.0) | |
| 2–3 a week | 2/25 (8.0) | 2/62 (3.2) | 4/87 (4.6) | |
| ≥4 a week | 1/25 (4.0) | 2/62 (3.2) | 3/87 (3.4) | |
| Mephedrone (M) use during sex <6 months | 20 (12.4) | 47 (6.4) | 0.013 | 67 (7.5) |
| Frequency | 0.059 | |||
| Once per month or less | 11/20 (55.0) | 39/47 (83.0) | 50/67 (74.6) | |
| 2–4 per month | 5/20 (25.0) | 4/47 (8.5) | 9/67 (13.4) | |
| 2–3 a week | 2/20 (10.0) | 1/47 (2.1) | 3/67 (4.5) | |
| ≥4 a week | 2/20 (10.0) | 3/47 (6.4) | 5/67 (7.5) | |
| Type of chemsex drugs used during sex <6 months‡ | 0.078 | |||
| G only | 24/58 (41.4) | 129/215 (60.0) | 153/273 (56.0) | |
| G and C | 9/58 (15.5) | 30/215 (14.0) | 39/273 (14.3) | |
| G and M | 9/58 (15.5) | 20/215 (9.3) | 29/273 (10.6) | |
| C and G and M | 11/58 (19.0) | 21/215 (9.8) | 32/273 (11.7) | |
| C only | 5/58 (8.6) | 9/215 (4.2) | 14/273 (5.1) | |
| M only | 0/58 (0) | 4/215 (1.9) | 4/273 (1.5) | |
| C and M | 0/58 (0) | 2/215 (0.9) | 2/273 (0.7) | |
| Injecting drugs <6 months | 10 (6.2) | 15 (2.1) | 0.008 | 25 (2.8) |
| Shared needles | 3/10 (30.0) | 1/15 (6.7) | 0.267 | 4/25 (16.0) |
| Sober sex last time§ | 0.045 | |||
| In the past month | 36/58 (62.1) | 166/215 (77.2) | 202/273 (74.0) | |
| Longer than 3 months ago | 5/58 (8.6) | 20/215 (9.3) | 25/273 (9.2) | |
| Longer than 6 months ago | 5/58 (8.6) | 11/215 (5.1) | 16/273 (5.9) | |
| Longer than 1 year ago | 8/58 (13.8) | 14/215 (6.5) | 22/273 (8.1) | |
| I do not remember | 4/58 (6.9) | 4/215 (1.9) | 8/273 (2.9) | |
| Condomless anal chemsex | 44 (27.3) | 161 (22.1) | 0.178 | 205 (23.0 |
*The use of any combination of drugs, including crystal methamphetamine, mephedrone, and/or GHB/GBL before or during sex in past 6 months.
†Non-consensual sexual experience was defined as ‘where someone went beyond your limits or where you had an unpleasant experience’ (eg, filmed/photographed without consent, had sexual contact against their will, etc).
‡It is not known whether drugs were consumed at the same time or sequential.
§Last time having sex without any of the chemsex-associated drugs.
GHB/GBL, gamma-hydroxybutyrate/gamma-butyrolacton; MSM, men who have sex with men.