Abstract #3508 - The South African Marang Men’s Project: HIV bio-behavioural surveys conducted among men who have sex with men in Cape Town, Durban and Johannesburg using respondent-driven sampling
Authors:
Presenting Author:
Ms Allanise Cloete - Human Sciences Research CouncilAdditional Authors
Dr L Simbayi, Dr T Rehle, Dr S Jooste, Dr M Mabaso, Dr L Townsend, Dr Y Ntsepe, Dr J Louw, Dr D Naidoo, Dr T Dyda, Dr P Naidoo, . M Marang Men’s Project TeamAim:
The South African Marang Men’s Project surveyed 925 men who have sex with men (MSM) in the three largest cities of South Africa, namely, Cape Town, Durban and Johannesburg. High HIV prevalence estimates (Cape Town: 22.3% Durban: 48.2% Johannesburg: 26.8%) were found among MSM surveyed. Other key findings included the following: Over half of the respondents ࿔.6%) in Cape Town, 11.4% in Durban and 23.1% in Johannesburg reported “selling sex to men” and unusually high estimates of police discrimination because of sexual orientation were found among respondents in Cape Town with 37.1% reporting police discrimination while 26.2% and 20.8% reporting the same in Durban and Johannesburg, respectively. These results suggest that the policy and programmatic agenda would need to do some of the following: Firstly, it would need to address the human rights of MSM (along with other sexual and gender minorities) as equal citizens of our country. In a sense, HIV feeds on prejudice and discrimination. Secondly, there is a need for more in-depth research on, and insight into, hidden populations within minority groups (i.e. male sex workers) such as those found in the Marang Men’s Project. Finally, they also tell us that social inequality is a key driver of HIV and this requires a response from government to meet its mandate of a better life for all.Go Back