Nepal’s queer community battles a silent drug crisis

A new study reveals a surge in sexualised drug use among transgender people and sex workers. But stigma keeps many from seeking treatment.

It began with what seemed like a harmless offer, a small pill that promised to help Sagar, a nervous 21-year-old on a date in Thamel, relax and enjoy himself. The man he had met at a bar was older and persuasive. “He said it would make sex better,” Sagar recalled, describing his first experience of chemsex (a slang term for sex under the influence of drugs) two years ago.