Four in ten gay men say the majority of sex they have is without protection
Four in 10 gay men say the majority of sex they have is unprotected, in new startling survey of 1,500 gay and bisexual men in the UK.
In a study of sexual health across Britain, it found that while more people are worrying about becoming HIV-positive, it doesn’t mean that correlates with more people using condoms.
Sexual health charity GMFA found 39% of gay men said the majority of sex they had in the last year was unprotected. 25% said they only had unprotected anal sex some of the time, while 35% said they don’t have any unprotected sex.
Results for single HIV-negative men who mostly or only have bareback sex was found out to be that:
42% are not worried about HIV
43% are not worried about other STDs
47% do worry about HIV positive
48% do worry about picking up other STDs
Up to 51% of gay men believe current HIV campaigns do not speak to them.
Lorne, 24 from Cardiff, is single and said he had bareback sex with 30 guys in the past year. He says: ‘It’s far from a death sentence. I’d prefer to have HIV than diabetes. I endeavor not to decline someone based on their HIV status.’
Mike, 32 from London, does not worry about picking up STIs or becoming HIV positive and does not ask the status of casual sex partners. ‘I don’t ask as I don’t care. I’m a bareback cumdump. I understand the risks.’
Ian Howley, the incoming interim CEO of GMFA, said: ‘HIV prevention is about so much more than telling someone to wear a condom, to test, to take PrEP. It’s also about self-esteem, self worth, mental health and empowerment. If you don’t care about yourself, why would you care about remaining HIV-negative? And this is where HIV prevention has to change. We need to step back and think about how we approach this.
‘This is so much more to gay men’s health than HIV and we need to address this. The game has changed and we need to change tactics. If we are to finally win the fight against HIV, it’s not going to be down to just PrEP or condoms or testing.
‘It’s going to be when we, as a community, start to value our own lives and see our self worth. It will be when we work on our self-esteem and make sure we look after the issues we face in our day-to-day lives. Remaining HIV-negative is just one part of the battle to be healthy.’
He added: ‘We’re in a new era when it comes to HIV, and we all need to work together to make sure that we supply the information gay and bisexual men are looking for. But unfortunately we are in a time where spending on HIV prevention has been cut year-on-year, donations in the sector as a whole are down and we are seeing charities close. Something needs to be done.’
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7 Comments
Brian Collins
August 10, 05:58I think it is a problem with straight guys too. I have a lot of friends who don’t care. Saying they ‘don’t cum inside’ and all that. People need to care about themselves and others more
Mandy
August 10, 06:12HIV has lost the terror it used to hold over the gay community. And this is the situation when there’s no cure. When there’s a cure, you can expect every gay man on this planet would be fucking without protection at all.
bruno
August 10, 06:58ha. that header image. dominic santos ???.
anyways the post seem to check out. only very few dudes i’ve been with show any real interest in using condoms.
some look at you blankly like they’ve never heard of a condom before, some complain about how the sex doesnt feel the same, some say “trust me, i’m clean”, some say “i trust you”, some beg you to fuck em raw and some act like “true love” is some sort of hiv vaccine.
while you its really your choice how you have sex, you really should consider if you really want to add the stress of living with a deadly virus that has no cure to your life.
FOOFOO
August 10, 08:24I can’t but use condoms, come what may, even if the cure if HIV is discovered today. Call me paranoid but I always had a fee in my bag and lube as well.. ? Most of these guys have no Idea how HIV/AIDS almost wiped out the gay community in San Fransisco and some other parts of the world before it was put on hold. This is exactly what one of the survivors in a documentary I watched recently was hammering on, people no longer appreciate the severity of the ailment because of the drugs available… They should keeping fucking raw, it’s only a matter of time before another super infection rares it’s ugly head.
ambivalentone
August 10, 08:45They would say that until they get the virus and then, their outlook changes. Smh. These Jon Snows who know nothing
bain
August 10, 14:20if u like use condom if u like don’t use condom,when u catch hiv n oda infections,ul know,if u like decide to spread,people that religiously use condoms n abstain won’t be affected.#my thoughts
chuck
August 10, 16:11There’s this Barebavk Brotherhood and other groups out there, spreading lies about how bareback sex is safe etc.