Messaging Gay Men About STIs
posted: 07/04/2011
Manchester gay and bi men using the Royal Infirmary's Hathersage Clinic (along with men using STI clinics in Sheffield, Brighton and at four London STI clinics) now have a new way to warn partners they may have been in contact with a sexually transmitted infection.
The Sexual Health Messaging Service has just begun, launched by GMFA, the gay men’s health charity, and is linked in with the popular gay profile sites Fitlads, Gaydar, Manhunt and Recon, and the cruising app Bender.
Men need to Opt-in for notifications if they get an invitation, for it to work.
It's funded by the Elton John AIDS Foundation and aims to help cut the number of men with undiagnosed STIs, including HIV. Men who are diagnosed with an STI can tell previous sexual partners by using an online system (anonymously if prefered), so the partners can go and get tested and, if necessary, treated.
99% want to know about any STIs
Over a quarter of gay men with HIV do not know they have HIV. GMFA’s study shows that the vast majority of gay men (99.3%) want to be told if any sexual partner gets an STI and 97.5% want to be told if this is HIV.
Matthew Hodson of GMFA, commented: “Many STIs don’t show any symptoms, so lots of men may be infected and not know it. While it’s best to tell men you’ve had sex with if you find out you’ve picked up an STI, making that awkward phone call or sending an email can be difficult. As a result, some men choose not to tell, even though they know they should. We’ve made the process as easy as possible by doing most of the work for you – all you need is a contact for your partners and we’ll take care of the rest.”
An easy (even anonymous) way to tell
Existing ways of telling partners often require anyone who is diagnosed with an STI to contact their partners direct, sometimes using a pink slip issued by the clinic. GMFA’s research shows these systems often don’t work.
For all kinds of reasons some men can't or won't notify sexual partners. Of the men who do tell partners about having an STI or HIV, only 65% told all their partners. Here's some of the difficulties and reasons for this
- not having partners’ contact details (sometimes only a first name, or only a profile name)
- embarrassment
- not wanting the partner to know about their having an STI or HIV
- not wanting to see the guy again.
Now men using the Hathersage in Manchester, men in Brighton, Sheffield and parts of London can use GMFA’s new Sexual Health Messaging Service. It will then be spread across the rest of London later this year and then the rest of the country next year.
The GMFA service means clinics give men a unique reference number so they can log in to the online system and send notifications using a number of contact methods, including
- website profile name
- cruising app profile name
- mobile
- email.
The message is automatically written and contains links to where their partners can go for testing. While men are encouraged to say who they are, it can be kept anonymous.
The service started its six-month pilot on Monday. The clinics taking part are
- In Manchester, the Hathersage Centre (Upper Brook Street / Hathersage Road corner)
- In Sheffield, the Royal Hallamshire Hospital
- Brighton, Claude Nicol Centre at Royal Sussex County Hospital
- 56 Dean Street, Soho, London,
- Homerton University Hospital, London
- The Lloyd Clinic at Guy’s Hospital, London
- St Bartholemew’s Hospital, London
Men can use the service to send messages to partners met through the four participating gay dating websites (Fitlads, Gaydar, Manhunt and Recon) and the cruising app, Bender.
Opt-in to take part
Profile site members need to opt-in to receive notifications if and when they are sent an invite.
Matthew of GMFA tells us: “This is a major project and marks a huge shift in the way men can notify their partners about STIs they’ve picked up. By making the process easy, we hope to make more men aware of any STIs they may have and ultimately reduce the number of STI infections in the community.”
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