Since
the early years of the AIDS epidemic, public health experts and members of the
gay community have debated whether bathhouses and other public sex venues should
be closed to prevent the spread of HIV. While some argue that such spaces encourage
unsafe sex with multiple partners, others maintain that they offer an ideal opportunity
for safer sex education and provision of condoms.
As
reported in the June 1, 2007 Journal of Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndromes,
researchers conducted a study to assess the prevalence of high-risk sexual activity,
surveying 400 patrons leaving a bathhouse catering to gay men.
Results
• During their visit, 91.5%
of men reported they had oral sex and 44.2% had anal sex.
•
In the prior 3 months, 85% of patrons reported having anal sex, which was more
likely to be unprotected when it occurred in a private home or hotel as opposed
to a public setting (P < 0.001).
•
Having unprotected anal sex at home was significantly associated with also having
risky sex at the bathhouse (P < 0.001).
Conclusion
"Most
men at the bathhouse engaged in oral sex rather than anal sex, and most anal sex
included use of condoms," they authors concluded. "Furthermore, men
were more likely to have [unprotected anal intercourse] in a private home than
in any public setting. The bathhouse seems to have facilitated condom use when
anal sex occurred on-site."
AIDS Research Institute, Center for
AIDS Prevention Studies, University of California, San Francisco CA; Abt Associates,
Cambridge, MA; Department of Family Medicine, University of Washington, Seattle,
WA.
06/22/07
Reference WJ
Woods, D Binson, J Blair, and others. Probability Sample Estimates of Bathhouse
Sexual Risk Behavior. JAIDS 45(2): 231-238. June 1, 2007.
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