“Do you bareback?”

“Yeah, I take it raw.”

“Awesome! What time and where?”

“My place, 20 minutes… Are you neg?”

“Yeah…”

This is a fairly common negotiation in lots of casual hook-up scenarios – on Grindr, in the toilet line at Connections, cruising on any number of gay internet chat rooms. ‘Bareback’ and ‘raw’ are both slang terms for unprotected anal intercourse, and ‘neg’ refers to a negative HIV status.
But, having unprotected sex based on that ‘txt-versation’ is flawed. Establishing that the hot guy who is about to shag you unrubbered is ‘neg’ is not the end of the story.

Does he actually know if he’s neg? Has he had a sexual health test recently? If so, when? Did it include finding out his HIV status? Has he had any bareback sessions after the testing? Is he telling you the truth?

All of these questions need to follow that first one about HIV status, and are just as relevant in working out your level of risk with unprotected sex.
Now, interrogating him about sexual health testing patterns, risk reduction strategies and his integrity can be a bit of a mood killer. And for most guys, they don’t want to know a casual hook-up’s life story.

But, we are seeing an increasing number of anxious guys who are coming in to the M clinic, and interacting with us online through CyberReach and via the phone on AIDSline and MENSline, who have had bareback sex and are extremely concerned that they may have exposed themselves to HIV.
Often the guys are outside the 72-hour reach of Post Exposure Prophylaxis (PEP). PEP is reasonably protective providing that treatment is sought as soon as possible after a potential exposure and the treatment is continued right to the end.

Of course, each person is entitled to make their own choices around the level of risk they are willing to accept. The circumstances for choosing unprotected sex are as individual as a fingerprint. If a condom is not an option for whatever reason, there are other ways of reducing your risk. Being fully and correctly informed from your sexual partners, and from reliable and accurate sources about how to lower risk, empowers you to choose. But, a condom remains the best way to stay ‘neg’.

To find out more, contact the WA AIDS Council on 9482 0000, the M Clinic on 9380 4922 or go online on www.projectx.net.au or www.waaids.com.

Steve Fragomeni, WAAC

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