Gender identity and HIV risk among men who have sex with men in Cape Town, South Africa

ABSTRACT

Gender identity plays a potentially important role contributing to HIV risk among MSM in South Africa. Where studies have included a focus on gender identity, MSM reporting gender non-conformity have been found to have a higher risk of being HIV positive than other MSM. This article examines HIV risk among gender non-conforming MSM in a sample of 316 MSM in Cape Town, South Africa. Reporting gender non-conformity was associated with higher HIV prevalence and increased HIV risk behaviour. Gender non-conformity was also associated with a higher likelihood of being unemployed and reporting low household incomes. These findings highlight the importance of gender-identity as a factor affecting access to HIV treatment, care, and prevention in South Africa and this is an issue that needs to be addressed in interventions targeting MSM populations.

KEYWORDS:

• HIV
• MSM
• gender non-conformity
• South Africa

Acknowledgements

This study is made possible by the generous support of the American people through the US President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) through the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) under Cooperative Agreement number 674-A-12-00015 to the Anova Health Institute. The contents are the responsibility of Anova Health Institute and do not necessarily reflect the views of USAID or the United States Government. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by U.S. President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief [grant number 674-A-12-00015].