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Relative safety II: risk and unprotected anal intercourse among gay men with diagnosed HIV
Duration: February 2008 - February 2009
Much changed in the ten years since we first undertook Relative safety, a quantitative and qualitative study of the sexual risk behaviour of gay men with diagnosed HIV. For example, improvements in treatment efficacy means it’s likely that HIV is increasingly normalised as a chronic manageable condition. This is likely to affect men’s perceptions of risk and the diversity and the quality of intimate relations open to gay men with HIV. In addition, the increased capacity for online interaction has transformed the contexts within which sexual risk is negotiated among gay men with HIV. Furthermore, a range of risk reduction tactics (such as sero-sorting and strategic positioning and named) have been identified. Advances in clinical technologies (such as treatments for erectile dysfunction amd PEP) are also likely to influence risk practices and it may be worth examining positive men’s attitudes towards potential future technologies (microbicides and vaccines). Finally, criminal convictions for reckless transmission of HIV necessitates a re-evaluation of the central tenets of ‘responsibility’ and ‘disclosure’ within the risk practices of gay men with HIV.
This study included 42 qualitative, in-depth, face-to-face interviews with men with diagnosed HIV who had engaged in unprotected anal intercourse (UAI) in the previous year. Men were recruited from areas of high HIV prevalence (London and Manchester) and low to medium HIV prevalence (Staffordshire, South Wales, South West England and West Yorkshire). The sample was stratified by length of time since first HIV diagnosis. The focus of the interviews was accounts of the most recent incident of unprotected anal intercourse. Fieldwork took place between March and August 2008 and the final report, Relative safety II, was published in February 2009.
This research is funded by Terrence Higgins Trust on behalf of CHAPS.
Key contact:
The partner agencies collaborating on this programme are:
The Armistead Project
Body Positive North West
The Eddystone Trust
George House Trust
GMFA
Leeds Skyline
Staffordshire Buddies
Terrence Higgins Trust Cymru
Terrence Higgins Trust West
Yorkshire MESMAC
