Criminalisation Of Gay Sex In Africa Linked To Higher HIV Rates, Research Reveals
Researches have found a strong link between the criminalisation of gay sex and higher HIV rates in gay and bisexual men in African nations, according to a study presented at the International AIDS Conference.
As ‘POZ’ reports, Carry Lyons of Johns Hopkins University and her colleagues collected data between 2011 and 2018 from men who have sex with men living in 10 sub-Saharan African nations. A total of 8,113 men received questionnaires and HIV tests. Nineteen percent of the men tested positive for HIV.
In the study, nations were divided in three categories, according to their level of criminalisation. Nations with no criminalisation included Burkina Faso, Côte d’Ivoire, Guinea-Bissau and Rwanda. Those with criminalisation that punishes sex between men with less than eight years in prison included Cameroon, Senegal, Togo and Eswantini (Swaziland). And nations with severe criminalisation, in which sex between men is punishable by more than 10 years in prison, included Gambia and Nigeria.
Eight percent of the men living in nations with no criminalisation tested positive for HIV, as did 20% of those in the nations with criminalisation and 52% of those in the countries with severe criminalisation.
The investigators found, after adjusting for various differences between the study participants, that compared with men living in countries without criminalisation, those living in the nations with criminalisation were 2.21-fold more likely to have HIV. Those living in countries with severe criminalization were 4.65-fold more likely to have the virus.
The HIV-positive rate was 12% among men living in nations where legal barriers against either the registration or operation of civil society organisations offering services for men who have sex with men did not exist, compared with 33% among those living in nations that did have such legal barriers. This meant that such barriers were associated with an adjusted 2.27-fold increased likelihood that gay and bisexual men would test positive for HIV.
“Decriminalization of consensual same-sex sexual practices is necessary to optimize HIV prevention efforts and ultimately address the HIV epidemic,” Lyons concluded.
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