Resourced gay men in Tshwane aged 18-40 2007/8

J. Livingston, D. Nel

This Needs Assessment was a first step in exploring determinants of casual sexual risk-taking among White resourced gay men in Tshwane. Three broad areas were explored, i.e. biographical data, views of health problems and solutions and lastly, sexual behaviour and the determinants thereof. It became clear that HIV and STIs are seen as serious health problems confronting gay men. Without a strong sense of community, they appear apathetic and disinterested in taking responsibility for their own sexual health and well-being. Casual sex seems to be occurring in a context where anal sex is a preference, where motivating and de-motivating factors are mediated by the type of venue, the time of day, the codes given and the substance used, where there is no regular testing and no one knows their recent status, where there is no condom use in steady relationships and inconsistent condom use in casual encounters, where there is no negotiated safety in steady relationships and casual encounters, and where monogamy is claimed but not carried out and secrecy surrounds the most recent casual encounter. It is clear that this situates these men as being at a high risk of contracting and transmitting an STI or HIV. An intervention is needed to deal with the developing problem.