The Terrence Higgins Trust have uncovered some invaluable and intriguing facts about the sex lives of gay men.
In the last few months, HIV charity the Terrence Higgins Trust have been compiling a massive amount of important and intriguing information on sexual behaviour among gay men, as well as stats on sex education and HIV.
Their surveys and reports have covered everything from gay sex education in schools, to sexual activity among pensioners. They’ve delved into what makes our libidos tick, with in-depth essays, extraordinarily detailed observations, and thoughts from experts and public figures.
There are some very telling revelations in there, which will hopefully help us further understand our place in modern mainstream society as sexually active gay men. We’ve selected some of their most significant findings.
Lambeth is the worst hit area for HIV in the UK
There are eight times more people in Lambeth living with HIV than the national average.
HIV Services Face Cuts in worst-hit areas
Lambeth and other councils in South London will face cuts implemented from 1st October, which will cause major detriment to HIV prevention and treatment services in the area.
Ian Green, Chief Executive of the Terrence Higgins Trust, says ““Worryingly, this is part of an alarming trend of cuts to HIV services that we’re starting to see across the country.
As three of the worst-hit areas for HIV, Lambeth, Southwark and Lewisham have a leadership role to play in terms of providing exemplary HIV support services for their local communities.
“Instead, we fear the cuts in these boroughs could set a dangerous precedent on a national level, potentially leaving thousands of people with HIV without the emotional and practical support they need.”
In the last year, syphilis and gonorrhoea infections among gay and bisexual men rose by a fifth.
97% of young people thought sex education should include info about LGBT issues
In slightly more encouraging findings, almost all young people said they wanted to be taught more about LGBT sex and relationships.
A shocking 95% of young people did not learn about LGBT sex and relationships during their sex education at school
The study showed that SRE (Sex and Relationships Education) in UK schools is usually low quality, infrequent and rarely covers anything other than the biological basics of heterosexual sex.
Dr Christian Jessen
“I didn’t have any sex and relationships education at school. In fact I think I learnt most of what I knew from my friends, which explains a lot! I know my teachers struggled with teaching materials and were even unsure about what they could and could not talk about. This must change. The more informed a young person is the more able they are to make safer decisions. I think the government should do all they can to ensure that this happens and this would naturally include SRE.”
Paris Lees
“No one told us it was OK to be gay or trans or anything so long as you weren’t hurting other people, and that’s a huge shame because kids need to hear this.”
Men who have sex with men have the highest proportion of STIs
There’s a staggering inequality in STI infections between straight people and MSMs, with gay and bisexual men accounting for 79% of all syphilis diagnoses in the UK, and 55% per cent of all cases of gonorrhoea.
Gay men over 65 are most likely to be happy with their sex lives
The survey found that older gay men are happiest with their sex lives, while gay men in their 40s are the least happy.
Effective HIV treatment means ‘zero’ risk of transmitting virus
Antiretroviral treatment is now capable of reducing the levels of HIV to such an extent, that there is no risk of transmission. Dr Michael Brady, Medical Director at Terrence Higgins Trust, says: “We can now say with confidence that if you are taking HIV medication as prescribed, and have had an undetectable viral load for over six months, you cannot pass HIV onto your partner, with or without a condom. The risk is effectively zero.”
“The landmark findings from this study will give confidence to people living with HIV who want to date, start a family and have a happy, healthy sex life without fear of passing HIV onto their partner.”
A third of gay men do not know their HIV status.
According to the National Gay Men’s Sex Survey, more gay men than ever are getting tested for HIV
77% of gay and bisexual men have been tested for HIV in the past 12 months, a highter percentage than ever before. This does mean however, that one in four have never been tested.
Prince Harry has just become the first royal to publicly have an HIV test
In a groundbreaking moment in the fight against HIV prejudice, at the time of writing Prince Harry is taking an HIV test live on social media, as a stand against stigma.
Ian Green, Chief Executive of the Terrence Higgins Trust, says: “Thanks to treatment, testing for HIV could stop you from getting seriously ill, enable you to live a normal lifespan and prevent you from passing the virus on to anyone else. That’s why it’s so invaluable to have Prince Harry’s support as we aim to bust stigma and end the HIV epidemic.”
