Sex work and risk behaviour among HIV-negative gay men

Abstract

Gay men who engage in sex work may be at increased risk through risk behaviour outside the context of sex work. Among participants in the Health in Men (HIM) cohort of HIV-seronegative gay men in Sydney, 19.7% had ever engaged in sex work. Five percent reported being paid for sex in a six-month period during the study (2001–2006); a minority (18.3%) of these current sex workers reported unprotected anal intercourse (UAI) with clients and 62.0% reported UAI with any casual partners. The practice of sex work itself may not represent increased risk for HIV transmission but sex workers in this study were, nonetheless, at markedly increased risk in other aspects of their lives.

Acknowledgements

The authors thank the Australian Federation of AIDS Organisations and the AIDS Council of New South Wales for collaboration with the project and the men who have participated in the Health in Men study. The National Centre in HIV Epidemiology and Clinical Research, and the National Centre in HIV Social Research, are funded by the Commonwealth Department of Health and Ageing. The study was supported by the Commonwealth Department of Health and Ageing (Canberra), the New South Wales Health Department (Sydney) and the US National Institutes of Health (NIH/NIAID/DAIDS: HVDDT Award N01-AI-05395).