Sexual practices and STI/HIV testing among gay, bisexual, and men who have sex with men in Ottawa, Canada: examining nondisclosure prosecutions and HIV prevention

Abstract

In 1998, the Supreme Court of Canada ruled that prosecuting people for HIV-status nondisclosure would neither affect people’s willingness to undergo HIV testing, specifically, nor undermine HIV prevention, more generally. Since that time, limited research has explored this topic. This paper reports a survey of a convenience sample of 721 gay, bisexual, and other men who have sex with men. The aim was to examine participants’ sexually transmitted infection (STI) and HIV testing practices, sexual activities, and perceptions about nondisclosure prosecutions. Results suggest that nondisclosure prosecutions appear to have affected the STI testing practices of the participants in this research who were: (a) the most likely to have reported a sexual history involving unprotected receptive anal sex, and (b) least likely to have undergone testing for STIs.

Keywords:

• Canada
• criminalization
• HIV nondisclosure prosecutions
• prevention
• testing

Acknowledgeements

This project was funded by the Government of Ontario through its Early Researcher Award program.