Globally, there has been increasing public health and scholarly interest in chemsex, where the consumption of drugs is related to enhancing sexual pleasure, often in a group context, particularly among gay men or men who have sex with other men (MSM). Since the early 2000s, Hong Kong has witnessed the growth of a chemsex scene. In recent years, HIV/AIDs surveillance reports indicate that chemsex goers have contributed to the rise of HIV infections among MSM, and with increasing pressure from frontline workers, the government has recently acknowledged that this is an emerging issue.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: It is now commonly accepted that there exists a form of drug supply, that involves the non-commercial supply of drugs to friends and acquaintances for little or no profit, which is qualitatively different from profit motivated 'drug dealing proper'. 'Social supply', as it has become known, has a strong conceptual footprint in the United Kingdom, shaped by empirical research, policy discussion and its accommodation in legal frameworks. Though scholarship has emerged in a number of contexts outside the UK, the extent to which social supply has developed as an internationally recognised concept in criminal justice contexts is still unclear.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThis study is the first to examine the role of partner type in sexual practices of men who have sex with men (MSM) in China. Using cross-sectional self-administered questionnaires (N=692) with MSM in six Chinese cities (Shanghai, Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Xi'an, Dalian and Beijing) in 2008, this paper examines MSM's sexual practices, particularly condom use with different male and female partner types. We categorise sexual partner relationships into five types: partner/spouse, boyfriend/girlfriend, acquaintance, stranger and sex worker and hypothesise that the greater the affective distance between the partners, the greater the likelihood of engaging with intimate act and the lesser likelihood condom use.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFInt J Offender Ther Comp Criminol
February 2007
Since Hong Kong's return to the People's Republic of China (PRC) there has been a significant rise in the number of Chinese visitors to Hong Kong, including women crossing the border to engage in sex work. Sex work itself is not a crime in Hong Kong, but related activities, like soliciting, are prohibited. Sex work is treated as work for immigration purposes, and visitors who engage in work without an employment visa are breaching their conditions of stay.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFLife within a gang includes two endemic features: violence and alcohol. Yet, to date, most researchers studying gang behavior have focused on violence and its relationship to illicit drugs, largely neglecting the importance of alcohol in gang life. Because alcohol is an integral and regular part of socializing within gang life, drinking works as a social lubricant, or social glue, to maintain not only the cohesion and social solidarity of the gang, but also to affirm masculinity and male togetherness.
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