On the occasion of the Global Day of Action of the Suport. Don’t Punish campaign, during Pride month, Re Generation organised a screening of the film “Chem-Sex and the city” in Belgrade. The film was produced with the support of the Drugreporter Video Advocacy Network. Watch the video and read Irena Molnar’s report!
This short documentary premiered at the International Harm Reduction Film Festival in April this year in Portugal. It was made within Re Generation’s video advocacy public campaign to raise awareness of psychoactive substance issues. As Belgrade’s chemsex scene is on the rise (read more about chemsex here!), and more and more people are getting into it, the cases of overdose and sexual assaults are more and more frequent. With this event marking the International Day against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking, we wanted to raise awareness and make an open and safe space for people engaging in chemsex, to ask questions, talk about their experiences and seek any advice they may need.
This event – co-organised with the LGBTI Equal Rights Association and supported by the Pride Info Center – marked the beginning of an open dialogue on chemsex as a new phenomenon in Serbia, and as a result, we started new cooperation and mapping of the needs of communities practicing chemsex in Serbia, with an aim to create services that would respond to their specific needs.
After the screening of the film there were three presentations:
– Stefan Pejić (NGO Re Generation): “ChemSex and what stands behind this phenomenon”
– Zoran Milosavljevic (independent researcher): “ChemSex in Serbia – Strategic (in)visibility of practice and its implications”
– Amarillo Fecanji (ERA) “Regional perspectives and initial steps in mapping response to the appearance of ChemSex”
Re Generation is participating in the #Supportdontpunish global day of action campaign, organised by IDPC, for the 6th time this year. Every year we have offered a space for dialogue and open talk about drug use, trying to connect the phenomenon to the wider public, making it closer and more understandable and trying to de-stigmatise it. We were also advocating for harm reduction programs and drug policy reform, that are needed not only for the community of drug users but also other marginalised communities that intersect with use of drugs.
Above all Re Generation finds the SDP campaign each year to be a tool to provide an overview of the differing needs and challenges associated with drug use among diverse communities. This year’s idea was to show people that the steps in regard to response towards emerging problems around chemsex are being taken, and that we are tailoring a response that will aim to help anyone in need without any prejudice or judgement. We are dedicated and willing to work with the community for the community to make services better and tailored towards the needs of the community and reachable to the people that need them.
Article: Irena Molnar
Film: Stefan Pejic
