EThe Ministry of Health canceled a controversial study related to the Chemsex partiesa practice that combines sexual acts and live drug consumption, after various ethical questions and internal criticism.
According to what was stated by Thirdthe investigation, which had a $50 million budgetaimed to explore the impact of these activities, focused on understanding the behavior of users with sexualized drugs, especially in the LGTBI+ community and non-binary people in the Metropolitan Region, in order to develop prevention strategies in reproductive health.
The studyinitiative of the Disease Prevention and Control Division (Diprece)adopted an ethnographic methodology that involved direct participation of researchers in events associated with Chemsex -conjugation in English “chemicals” (chemical substances) and “sex” (sex)-. The intention was to make detailed observations for a deeper analysis of the phenomenon.
However, the proposal faced obstacles from its inception, generating debate about its ethical adequacy. The questions intensified after incidents were reported, such as the assault on a researcher during field work, and the revelation that the project had not obtained the necessary ethical approval, despite previous warnings from the Public Health cabinet.
The decision to suspend and subsequently terminate the studio’s contract was announced on November 24, confirming its definitive cancellation in January, according to sources from the Germina Study Center cited by La Tercera: “The aforementioned study will not be carried out, today it is in the suspended category.”