Group sex linked to risk

A new report card on group sex in Sydney has found many don’t play well with others, taking risks without knowing the HIV status of their partner.
The findings have prompted ACON to launch a new campaign to challenge assumptions that increase risk.
A quarter of the 600 respondents to the Three Or More study (TOMS) reported not using a condom the last time they had group sex.
Dr Garrett Prestage of the National Centre for HIV Epidemiology and Clinical Research (NCHECR) said most of those instances of unsafe sex followed negotiation between people of the same HIV status.
But he was surprised and concerned that one in 10 participants had unprotected sex with a person of unknown status.
There’s an assumption going on that if they didn’t get told, then they’re the same status or they’re not concerned about the risk, Prestage said.
Overall, gay men still practise safe sex most of the time, he said, but the new data linked group sex to greater risks.
Prestage also said he was concerned by some people’s presumption that what their partner told them was accurate.
We’re talking about men who are highly sexually active -“ how reliable is that knowledge? he said.
Future studies into the general gay population would see if the pattern of assumption was wider than just men in group sex, Prestage added.
ACON announced it would embark on a new campaign targeting sex on premises venues to challenge those assumptions.
We’ll be telling gay men that the person most likely to pass on HIV probably doesn’t even know he has it, ACON community health director Nick Corrigan said.
A 35-year-old participant, who asked not to be named, said he wasn’t always asked his status during group sex but had always assumed his partners were positive.
If you want to stay negative it’s the safest assumption, but it did take some time for me get to this point, he said.
Asking about someone’s status and negotiating condom use can be intimidating -“ but if you just make it a standard part of the pre-play or negotiation phase then it gets easier over time.
Negotiating group sex didn’t have to be difficult, he said, if people made clear their expectations up front.
If someone isn’t respecting that expectation, tell them. If they persist, then you should remove yourself from that particular situation and join another part of the group, he said.
NCHECR is looking for more people to be interviewed about their group sex habits. Details: 9385 0941.
See also SOPV Etiquette
Vote: Do you engage in group sex? Vote at www.ssonet.com.au.