A total of 1,225 men and women attending a commercial event in the state of Victoria, Australia were surveyed as to whether they had ever paid for sex. Of 612 men surveyed, 143 (23.4%) had paid for sex at least once. Men who had ever paid for sex were compared with male nonclients on 13 demographic and sexual history measures; only four significantly differentiated clients from nonclients. Clients were significantly older, less likely to have been educated beyond high school, less likely to report having a regular partner in the past 6 months, and more likely to report that their most recent sexual encounter was with a casual partner. Clients of sex workers reported the major reason for paying for sex was to satisfy their sexual needs (43.8%), followed by the belief that paying for sex was less trouble (36.4%), and that it would be entertaining (35.5%). A factor analysis of reasons for visiting sex workers identified three factors labelled Ease, Engagement, and Arousal. Together, these factors accounted for 55% of the variance associated with the factor solution of motivations for paying for sex. In a setting where commercial sex is legally available from brothels, it would appear that clients are unremarkable in their social characteristics and are motivated mainly by the ease of the commercial sex encounter, the need for engagement with another, and because they feel in need of sexual "relief."

Methamphetamine and heavy alcohol use are associated with increased sexual risk behaviour among men who engage in group sex. Within more 'adventurous' gay community subcultures, drug use is often for the explicit purpose of enhancing the sexual experience and this complex relationship may be key to understanding HIV risk among these men.

Observed associations between injecting and sexual risk reflect a strong relationship between these practices among GBM. The intersectionality between injecting drug use and sex partying indicates a need to integrate harm reduction interventions for GBM who inject drugs into sexual health services and targeted sexual health interventions into Needle and Syringe Programs.

Objective: This exploratory study identified associations between the number of sexual partners reported by men who have sex with men (MSM) and the structure and composition of their social networks. Methods: A cross sectional survey was conducted of men recruited as key informants, through advertising and chain referral. A face to face interview was conducted with 206 MSM. The interview included information on the number of sexual partners in the previous year and sociodemographic and behavioural characteristics of the participant. Social networks were enumerated and network size and density were calculated. Ordered logistic regression was used to assess the associations between number of sexual partners and personal and network characteristics. Results: The number of anal sex partners reported was higher if the participant had injected drugs in the past year rather than never having injected (odds ratio, 95% confidence interval: 3.23, 1.28 to 8.15), decreased with network density (0.014, 0.002 to 0.008) and increased if the network did not comprise only HIV negative people (1.77, 1.05 to 2.99). The number of additional oral sex partners increased with network size (1.06, 1.02 to 1.10) and decreased with increased network density (0.034, 0.006 to 0.205). In addition to similar effects of network size (1.05, 1.01 to 1.09) and network density (0.086, 0.013 to 0.563) the model for the number of additional manual sex partners also included age (1.03, 1.01 to 1.05). Conclusion:The density of the social networks of MSM appears strongly and consistently associated with patterns of sexual behaviour. This underlines the importance of using network approaches to understanding the sexual behaviour of MSM and their potential value in identifying novel strategies for intervention.T he composition and structure of the social networks of injecting drug users (IDU) have been found in a number of studies to be implicated in the sexual and drug use risk behaviours of IDU.1 2 To date, the social networks of MSM have been the subject of little research. One study found that having network members who were diagnosed with AIDS was associated with lower rates of unsafe sex.3 Beyond that finding, it is not known whether the composition and structure of the social networks of MSM are associated with sexual behaviour. The purpose of the present report is to explore associations between the number of sexual partners MSM report and the structure and composition of their social networks. METHODS Study sampleDuring 2002 we recruited 206 homosexual and bisexual men. Five were key informants (2.4%), 77 were recruited through chain referral (37.4%), and 124 (60.2%) through advertising in the gay press in Melbourne, Australia. Data collectionThe men completed an interviewer administered survey which took 60-90 minutes. MeasuresThe interview included information on the men's county of birth, education, employment status, income, HIV status, and sexual history. The number of sexual partners in the previous year was assessed as the number of men ...

Based on a range of indicators there was no evidence that the campaign increased HIV/STI testing. These findings highlight the importance of evaluating public health campaigns to assess their impact to ensure that they are modified if no impact is identified.