HIV gays still 'outcasts'

"If you go to a public clinic you won't find a poster that speaks to the men who have sex with men," said SA National Aids Council member Steve Letsike.

The Human Sciences Research Council yesterday released a report on its findings from the Marang Men Project, a study of 925 gay and bisexual men in Cape Town, Johannesburg and Durban in 2012 and 2013.

The report said that the prevalence of HIV infection was higher in gay and bisexual men than in the general adult population, and that gay and bisexual men still feel stigmatised at public hospitals when they seek treatment and support.

The researchers said that healthcare services cater primarily for heterosexuals.

Their study looked at three groups of gay men in each of the three cities.

It found that the prevalence of HIV among gay men was 48% in Durban, 22% in Cape Town and 26.8% in Johannesburg.

Researcher Allanise Cloete said the high rate of HIV among Durban's gay men was probably linked to the high incidence of HIV throughout KwaZulu-Natal.

The Durban men all lived in informal settlements, which are known to have high rates of HIV.

Researchers tried to survey white and Indian gay men in KwaZulu-Natal but had difficulty in finding willing participants.

The same problem frustrated an HSRC national HIV household survey in 2012.

Many white people did not allow census takers to enter their property and this has led to a paucity of data on HIV prevalence among whites.

More than 65% of the gay men surveyed had used a public healthcare facility in the previous three months but preferred gay-friendly clinics when seeking HIV testing.

More than 60% of them had undergone HIV testing in the past year.

The executive director of Anova, an NGO that services HIV patients, Professor James McIntyre, said it was good news that 80% of men reported that they had used condoms in their previous sexual encounter.

The report called on the government to develop a comprehensive national strategy for the testing and treatment, and giving prevention advice to gay men.

It said gay sex should be incorporated in public awareness campaigns and urged the government to train health workers in how to interact with gay and bisexual men.

Almost 30% of the men surveyed in Cape Town and 23% in Johannesburg said they had had sex with a woman in six months preceding the survey.