It’s not only apparent at Easter and at the Folsom Street Fair – Berlin posses an extremely varied offer that caters to the different needs of the leather, fetish and SM community. A myriad of clubs and bars regularly offers selected fetish parties with different themes, which satisfy the different ways of sexual stimulation and lust. Living out lust and sex, also anonymously, plays an important part in this scene. This scene has to be retained and encouraged, particularly in times of AIDS and increase in other sexually transmitted infections. Next to a basic knowledge about safer sex, one often finds individual strategies towards risk management in the interest of the personal pleasure. A lot has – luckily – changed regarding HIV/AIDS in the last few years. This regards medical aspects as well as the way AIDS and sexuality are being dealt with socially. These days it is not about communicating basic information about safer sex in the leather, fetish and SM scene anymore. In fact, prevention work here means to follow an integral approach and, besides passing on information, boosting the person in his individual way of life, especially his sexuality. We focus on “target group specific” reminder prevention and a direction to risk management through communicating differentiated information at the given events. For that we are developing target group adequate, up-to-date and Berlin specific information and educational material, which we pass on to this community.
The above makes us a competent contact partner in this area as well. If you have any questions you can contact my colleagues or me at any time.
