Gay, bi and queer men are 67 percent more likely to have unprotected anal sex.
A recent study from China has found that lonely gay men are most likely to have condomless sex. Of the 507 men that took part in the study, those “who reported feeling lonely were more likely to have had condomless receptive anal intercourse in the past 6 months.”
The same men also said that they felt “hopeless for the future” and reports of higher levels of internalised homophobia.
The study showed that gay and bi men in China are suffering from high rates of depression and loneliness, of the 507 who took part, 26.8 and 35.5% reported moderate-to-severe symptoms of depression and feeling lonely, respectively. Despite homosexuality not being illegal in China LGBT people are subject to severe societal pressures.
The aim of the study was to help demonstrate that gay/bi and queer men with negative mental health in high-income countries were at risk of HIV infection. “We sought to describe depression and loneliness and identify their correlates among Chinese MSM”.
Without protection, like condoms or access to PrEP, men who have bareback sex are more at risk of contracting HIV than those who use condoms or who are on PrEP and who test regularly.
Chances of passing on HIV are Zero if you’re on effective treatment
A recent study found that there is ZERO chance of passing on HIV if an infected partner was on effective treatment.
The PARTNER 2 study results found no cases of HIV transmission between men when one partner had HIV but was on effective treatment. This finding offers further confirmation that an undetectable viral load prevents sexual transmission of HIV. This understanding is frequently expressed as Undetectable equals Untransmittable, or U=U.
The 14-country study found no transmissions between gay couples where the HIV-positive partner had a viral load under 200 – even though there were nearly 77,000 acts of condomless sex between them.
China’s LGBT rights
China has a chequered history in LGBT rights – same-sex sexual activity has only been legal since 1997, whilst the country does not recognise gay relationships or marriages. Same-sex couples are not permitted to adopt and there is no legal statute to protect gays from discrimination. However, trans people are legally permitted to change their legal gender.
Homosexuality was removed from the Ministry Of Health’s list of mental illnesses in 2001.
