Almost 50% of men do not always wear a condom when having sex with non-steady male partners, survey says

Almost half of Irish men who have sex with a non-steady male partner do not always wear a condom - and more than one in four admitted having unprotected sex in the previous 12 months.

The European Men-Who-Have-Sex-With-Men Internet Survey also reveals that almost 7% of all of the Irish participants have been diagnosed with HIV.

There were 2,083 participants living in Ireland included in the comprehensive analysis based on around 128,000 participants in Europe who responded to an online survey in 2017.

Funded by the European Commission Health Programme 2014 - 2020, it provides insights on their knowledge of HIV, viral hepatitis and sexually transmitted infections, sexual behaviour, prevention needs and testing habits.

Of the Irish men who participated, 81% identified themselves as gay or homosexual but just one in five (21%) had come out as gay.

More than half (56%) have been tested for HIV in the last 12 months and one in five (20%) has used community testing.

More than 4% were unemployed and 17% report struggling financially. More than a quarter (26%) of men had unprotected sex because of a lack of condoms.

More than a third (35%) have a steady partner of any gender and the average age is around 35.

More participants have bought sex than sold it - 6% have bought sex from a man at least once in the previous 12 months while 4% have sold sex to a man at least 11 times.

Many men who are known to be attracted to other men have suffered insults – more than 27% had experienced verbal insults in the past 12 months. Almost 10% suffer from severe anxiety and depression; one in four is sexually unhappy and almost 30% have a potential alcohol dependency.

Almost one in ten (9%) were diagnosed with gonorrhoea in the previous 12 months; more than 5% were diagnosed with chlamydia and 3% were diagnosed with syphilis.

More than one in ten (13%) were unaware of pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP), a medication taken by HIV-negative people to reduce the chance of getting HIV from having sex without a condom. However, almost 27% were uncertain as to whether they would use the PrEP, that reduces the risk of getting HIV from sex by more than 90%, and by more than 70% among people who inject drugs.

An HIV prevention strategy using PrEP will be launched in the autumn and the survey found that among those who had not been diagnosed with HIV, almost one in five (18%) had spoken about PrEP at a health service.

The survey also reveals that around 4% of the participants were not sure of their own HIV status and among those never tested for HIV 45% did not know where to get a test. Also, more than half did not know where to get tested for hepatitis.

Almost half (47%) had got free condoms from organisations, clinics bars or saunas over a previous 12-month period. Three-quarters (75%) either saw or heard information about HIV sexually transmitted infections for men who had sex with men in the last 12 months.

The HSE's Health Protection Surveillance Centre, Sexual Health and Crisis Pregnancy Programme and the Gay Health Network in Ireland are preparing a report on the findings for Ireland that will be launched next month.