Sexual practices and sex-seeking behaviours among East and Southeast Asian men who have sex with men in Toronto: Implications for HIV prevention

Abstract

This study explored sexual practices and sex-seeking behaviours in a sample of 222 East and Southeast Asian men recruited through two gay venues. Over half of the respondents reported having a current regular partner; the rate of unprotected anal sex with their regular partner was high (45.1%). Among all respondents, 74.8% (166) reported having casual sex with an average of 16 partners in the previous six months; 26.5% of these 166 respondents reported unprotected anal sex with their casual partners. Respondents used multiple venues to seek sex, but bathhouses and the internet were most commonly cited. Bivariate analysis demonstrated that respondents who sought men for sex via both bathhouses and the internet in the past six months were most likely to have had a casual partner, to have had unprotected anal sex with a casual partner, and to have had prior HIV and STI testing. In comparison to respondents who used only bathhouses to seek sex, respondents who used only the internet had fewer casual partners but were more likely to have unprotected anal sex with a casual partner. Given these findings, additional research is needed to further explore the individual and structural factors that shape the condom use behaviour of these sub-populations. HIV prevention efforts must include culturally relevant information about HIV and STI transmission to promote condom use. It is also critical to develop culturally and linguistically appropriate online prevention education for Asian MSM who seek sex primarily through the internet.