Homophobia and Communal Coping for HIV Risk Management among Gay Men in Relationships

Men who have sex with men (MSM) remain disproportionately affected by the HIV epidemic in the US and estimates suggest that one to two-thirds of new infections occur among main partners. Previous research has focused on individual MSM and their risk for HIV, yet couples’ ability to manage risk has been largely understudied. In particular, the role that homophobia plays in shaping the ability of gay male couples to cope with HIV risk is currently understudied. 

A sample of 447 gay/bisexual men with main partners was taken from a 2011 survey of gay and bisexual men in Atlanta. Linear regression models were fitted for three couples’ coping outcome scales (outcome efficacy, couple efficacy, communal coping) and included indicators of homophobia (internalized homophobia and homophobic discrimination). 

Findings indicate that reporting of increased levels of internalized homophobia were consistently associated with decreased outcome measures of couples’ coping ability regarding risk management. The results highlight the role that homophobia plays in gay male couples’ relationships and HIV risk, extending the existing literature in the field of same-sex relationships as influenced by homophobia.

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By:   Stachowski C1, Stephenson R.

• 1Hubert Department of Global Health, Rollins School of Public Health, Emory University, 1518 Clifton Rd NE, Atlanta, GA, 30322, USA. 

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The Peer & Non-Peer: The Potential of Risk Management for HIV Prevention in Contexts of Prostitution

Sex workers have been the protagonists and focus of HIV prevention campaigns and research since the late 1980s in Brazil. Through a review of national and international literature, combined with a history of sex workers' involvement in the construction of the Brazilian response, this article explores the overlaps and disconnects between research and practice in contexts of prostitution over the past three decades. 

We review the scientific literature on the epidemiology of HIV among sex workers and prevention methodologies. We conclude that although research focus and designs often reinforce the idea that sex workers' vulnerability is due to their sexual relationships with clients, their greatest vulnerability has been found to be with their nonpaying intimate partners. 

Few studies explore their work contexts and structural factors that influence safe sex practices with both types of partners. The negative effects of criminalization, stigma, and exclusively biomedical and peer education-based approaches are well documented in the scientific literature and experiences of sex worker activists, as is the importance of prevention programs that combine empowerment and human rightsbased approach to reduce HIV infection rates. 

We conclude that there is a need for actions, policies, and research that encompass the environment and context of sex workers' lives and reincorporate the human rights and citizenship frame that dominated the Brazilian response until the end of the 2000s. As part of HIV prevention efforts, female sex workers need to be considered above all as women, equal to all others.

Full article at:  http://goo.gl/IFI6Jv

By:  Leite GS1, Murray L2, Lenz F3.

• 1Davida - Prostitution, Civil Rights and Health, Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brasil.
• 2Department of Sociomedical Sciences, Mailman School of Public Health, Columbia University, New York, USA.
• 3Graduate Program in Communication, Universidade do Estado do Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brazil. 

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Gender, Race, and Risk: Intersectional Risk Management in the Sale of Sex Online

Sex worker experience of risk (e.g., physical violence or rape) is shaped by race, gender, and context. For web-based sex workers, experience of risk is comparatively minimal; what is unclear is how web-based sex workers manage risk and if online advertising plays a role in risk management. 

Building on intersectionality theory and research exploring risk management in sex work, we content-analyzed 600 escort advertisements from Backpage.com (http://www.backpage.com) to explore risk management in web-based sex work. To guide our research we asked: 

• Do advertisements contain risk management messages? 
• Does the use of risk management messaging differ by sex worker race or gender? 
• Which groups have the highest overall use of risk management messages? 

Through a multivariate analysis of covariance (MANCOVA) we found that advertisements contained risk management messages and that uses of these phrases varied by race and gender. Blacks, women, and transgender women drove the use of risk management messages. Black and White transgender women had the highest overall use of these phrases. 

We conclude that risk management is an intersectional practice and that the use of risk management messages is a venue-specific manifestation of broader risk management priorities found in all venues where sex is sold.

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By: Moorman JD1, Harrison K2.

• 1 Department of Communication Studies , University of Michigan.
• 2 Department of Communication Studies and Research Center for Group Dynamics , Institute for Social Research, University of Michigan.

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