Melbourne Gay Community Periodic Survey back for 2016 at Midsumma Carnival

The Victorian AIDS Council (VAC) along with the Centre for Social Research in Health
(CSRH) and the Kirby Institute at UNSW will again be conducting the Melbourne Gay Community Periodic
Survey in 2016, beginning at this year’s Midsumma Carnival on Sunday, 18 January.
From Carnival until the following Sunday, 25 January, gay and bisexual men who have sex with men (MSM)
will be asked to participate in the survey at a range of locations across Melbourne, including medical
clinics, social venues such as pubs and bars, and sex-on-premises venues. Only Melbourne men who have
had sex with another man in the past five years should complete a survey form, as well as men who don’t
live in Melbourne but who regularly participate in the Melbourne gay community. The survey is completely
anonymous, and the results are communicated later in the year via LGBTI and other media, through public
meetings and seminars, in online reports, and through journal articles.
First conducted in Melbourne in 1998, the short survey takes a snapshot of gay men’s sexual practices
related to the transmission of sexually transmitted infections (STIs), including HIV. The survey is important
because it gives a snapshot of the lives of gay and homosexually active men in Melbourne from year to
year. It allows comparisons to be made over time and for a picture to emerge of the changes in sexual
practices and partnering habits, drug use, HIV and STI rates, and testing habits.
The Periodic Survey is also conducted in other states during gay community festivals so that comparisons
can be drawn between states. Data from the surveys are used to form local and national sexual health
promotion campaigns and education strategies.
“It only takes a few minutes to complete the survey, so drop by our tent at the Midsumma Carnival to say
hello,” said the survey’s Victorian coordinator, VAC’s Tex McKenzie.
“We will be in the venues and clinics during the following week as well, so look out for our recruiters. Your
support in completing the survey makes a difference and helps to guide the direction of HIV and STI health
promotion strategies here in Victoria.”
VAC CEO Simon Ruth added: “The Periodic Survey is an important piece of research that helps us target
not only campaigns around HIV and STI-prevention, but around mental health issues and alcohol and drug
use in our community as well.”
“The data we gather from the survey over time is an invaluable resource for both state-based and national
campaigns.”