For Immediate Release

Media Contact:
Justin Burke - 213.201.1525
EMAIL:jburke@apla.org

CHALLENGES IN HIV PREVENTION FOR MEN WHO HAVE SEX WITH MEN HIGHLIGHTED AT
NATIONAL CONFERENCE

“Down Low” Phenomenon, Links Among HIV and Meth Use Examined

Los Angeles, CA, June 15, 2005 – Research presented at the 2005 National HIV Prevention Conference today offers a troubling picture of the state of HIV prevention efforts for men who have sex with men (MSM) in the U.S., particularly for gay African American men and users of the drug crystal meth. The findings follow new CDC data, reported Monday, showing that MSM account for 45 percent of the population currently living with HIV.

A study by the Los Angeles Gay & Lesbian Center of 19,000 men who have sex with men (MSM) tested there for HIV between 2001 and 2004 shows a near doubling – from 5.8 to 10.3 percent – of reported use of crystal meth. Among MSM who tested HIV-positive, crystal use had nearly tripled – from 11.7 percent to 30.2 percent – in the same time period. Among users, 86.6 percent report use of the drug during sex.

“We are desperate for more MSM-specific treatment programs for meth users,” said Craig E. Thompson, executive director of AIDS Project Los Angeles (APLA). “Crystal use is ten times greater among gay men than the general population. Up to twenty percent of gay men report using it. While there is no proven link to date between crystal use and the rise in HIV rates among gay men, it is clear that what was perceived as a west coast phenomenon is now a national emergency.”

In response to the increase in crystal use among gay men in Los Angeles, APLA recently began a program to reduce the risk of HIV infection among meth users.

Starting in July, the program will hold free community forums and offer trainings for crystal users and their friends and families to provide information about health resources and how to access them. A second set of trainings helps users and their friends and family identify a crystal problem and provides strategies for coping with one, including techniques for friends and family to help them help the user.

APLA has also issued a call to action about crystal use in Los Angeles, demanding an increase in the number of substance abuse treatment and social service programs for MSM users; greater visibility for substance abuse and HIV prevention messages through expanded, government-funded social marketing campaigns; substance abuse and HIV prevention interventions for gay and bisexual men that involve their sexual partners, their families and friends; and increased research with and for gay and bisexual men who are abusing crystal.

New Findings on Life on the “Down Low”

Also at the conference, a pair of CDC studies in 12 cities – about use of the term “down low” (DL) and delivering prevention to MSM who identify as such – showed a discrepancy between how the term is understood and used by the media and by men themselves.

In the two related studies, only thirteen percent of men reported having a main female sex partner while 82 percent reported having links to the gay community. Significant numbers of Latino (26 percent) and white (7 percent) men identified themselves as DL, countering the broad understanding of DL as a phenomenon among African American men who do not identify as gay, have unprotected sex with men and women and do not disclose their same-gender sex to their main female partners.

Analysis also showed that while the majority of DL men receive HIV prevention information they have fewer sources for it, and study authors suggest that DL men can be reached though traditional venues and publications.

“The ‘down low’ phenomenon may turn out to be less of a phenomenon and more of phantom than many have imagined,” said Thompson. “A small subset of men is having unprotected sex with other men and women, and most are receiving information about HIV. Instead of finding a new group to blame for the HIV epidemic, we need to think about HIV prevention for black gay men in terms that address larger issues in their lives such as HIV/AIDS stigma, mental health needs, disparities in access to and information about health care and entrenched homophobia. We know these challenges compromise the intentions of these men to practice safer sex, seek health care or get tested for HIV.”

AIDS Project Los Angeles, one of the largest non-profit AIDS service organizations in the United States, provides bilingual direct services, prevention education and leadership on HIV/AIDS-related policy and legislation. Founded by four friends in 1982, APLA is a community-based, volunteer-supported organization with local, national and global reach. For more information, visit www.apla.org.

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