How are gay men in Melbourne having sex in 2016?

The results of this year’s Melbourne Gay Community Periodic Survey give us a snapshot of sex and
relationships in our communities, said the Victorian AIDS Council (VAC).
Recruited throughout Melbourne’s Midsumma festival at gay venues and events, the survey captured the responses of
2886 gay and same-sex attracted men to a broad set of questions about sex, relationships and sexual health.
Conducted by the University of NSW in conjunction with partner organisations around the country, like VAC in Victoria,
the gay community periodic surveys have been running since 1998, giving not just a snapshot but a picture of how
trends change over time.
Just one highlight of the 2016 survey is the effect of pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) on what sex and sexual health in
our communities looks like, and how gay men are becoming more aware of ways to reduce the risk of HIV transmission.
Some key findings for 2016:
• A drop in men who have tested for HIV at all over the past year (down from 69.9% in 2012 to 65.6% in 2016), but
a big increase in men who have had three or more HIV tests in the past year (up from 11.9% in 2012 to 22.8%
in 2016).
• A large increase over time in the proportion of HIV-positive men on treatment and with an undetectable viral
load, up from 65.1% in 2008 to 95.2% in 2016. Having an undetectable viral load makes HIV transmission during
sex very unlikely.
• A gradual increase over time of the proportion of gay men in open relationships to 32% in 2016—it’s now the
most common type of relationship.
• An increase over the past year in the proportion of gay men not using condoms during anal sex with casual
partners, up from 38.9% in 2015 to 42.6% in 2016.
• However, the past year has also seen a huge increase in the proportion of men on PrEP, up from 1.4% in 2015 to
5.6% in 2016. This largely accounts for the increase in condomless anal sex with casual partners.
• An increase over time in awareness and use of undetectable viral load as a strategy for avoiding HIV transmission,
both among HIV-positive men (up from 67.6% in 2013 to 76.2% in 2016) and among HIV-negative men (up from
12.2% in 2013 to 15.4% in 2016).
VAC CEO Simon Ruth said the findings from this year’s survey were particularly interesting for the light they shed on
PrEP use in the community. PrEP is a highly effective HIV-prevention method, where HIV-negative people take HIV
medication to significantly reduce their risk of contracting HIV.
“This is really the first time we’ve been able to see the way PrEP is protecting our community,” Ruth said.
“The results around PrEP and undetectable viral load show us what we’ve known for a long time now, that gay men
in Victoria are smart, aware, and willing to engage with new and often complex information about sexual health and
HIV prevention.”
“Grass-roots initiatives like PrEPaccessNOW and PrEP’d for Change have shown us how gay men are taking the lead on
educating and informing the community.”
VAC’s Director of Health Promotion, Policy and Communications Colin Batrouney pointed to the results around HIV
and STI testing as an indication of positive change.
“Since it began, the Drama Downunder campaign has encouraged people to get tested to maintain their sexual
health, and for almost a year now we’ve been encouraging gay men to test every three months through our seasonal
campaign,” said Batrouney.
“In these results we can see how testing behaviour is changing—the proportion of gay men who have had at least
three HIV tests in the previous 12 months has almost doubled over the past five years. That’s an impressive result.”
“Testing every three months is particularly important if you’re having sex with a lot of different guys, and these look
like the kind of men who are testing more frequently. We’re also working to make testing easier and more convenient
with peer-led services like rapid HIV-testing at the PRONTO! clinic.”