Contemporary gay youth have grown up in what could be termed the post-‘Grim Reaper’ era. The safe sex message is everywhere. Yet, we see an alarming number of younger guys visiting the M Clinic who are choosing to have unprotected sex.
I’m the newest and youngest member of the Project-X team, and I have the good fortune of being the Youth Peer Educator at the WA AIDS Council (WAAC). I’ve also had the wonderful experience of being on the team of peer educators at the M Clinic over the past few months. I get the opportunity to speak with my peers on a one-to-one basis about their HIV risk reduction strategies. From my experience, young guys are knowledgeable about STIs, but are still choosing to have unprotected sex without really knowing the implications of becoming HIV positive.
We didn’t grow up with the constant visible reminders of what it meant to be HIV-positive, but HIV is still as serious today as it was thirty years ago. It may no longer be a death sentence, nor highly visible in the community, but HIV is for life. So before having unprotected sex, there are few things to consider about living with HIV.
People living with HIV:
• Must have regular blood-tests to monitor viral load and immune health
• Take antiretroviral medications every day for life that can cause complications with accelerated ageing
• May need to disclose something very personal to casual sexual partners
• Are sometimes stigmatised because of that disclosure
• Need to use condoms to protect casual sexual partners
This is just a few of a long list that I, myself, am still learning about.
I’ve heard a number of reasons why younger guys choose not to use condoms: ‘He doesn’t look like he has HIV’, ‘He’s young, he won’t have HIV’, ‘It was the heat of the moment’, ‘We were too out of it’, ‘I lose my hard-on’ and my favourite ‘They don’t make them big enough’.
Condom use is becoming less of a norm these days amongst younger guys. The only guaranteed way to prevent HIV is to wear a condom. However, there are a number of safer sex strategies to use in combination that may help to reduce the risk of HIV infection. For more information about these strategies, or to talk about any sexuality or sexual health related issues check out www.projectX.net.au and register for the Project-X forum.
Aaron Agnew
Project X, WA AIDS Council
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