Physical Victimization and High-Risk Sexual Partners among Illicit Drug-Using Heterosexual Men in New York City

Abstract

Physical victimization has been linked to high-risk sexual partnerships in women. Although illicit drug-using heterosexual men are at high-risk of physical victimization, the association between violence and high-risk partners in heterosexual men has received little attention in the published literature. We examined the association between experience of severe physical victimization and acquisition of a high-risk sexual partner (i.e., a partner who injected drugs or participated in transactional sex) 1 year later among illicit drug-using men in New York City (2006-2009) using secondary cross-sectional data. Injection and non-injection drug-using men (n=280) provided a retrospectively recalled history of risk behavior and violence for each year over the past 4 years. Our primary outcome was acquisition of a high-risk sexual partner in any year following the baseline year. Our primary exposure was severe physical victimization (i.e., threatened with a knife or gun, beaten up, shot, or stabbed) in the prior year. Frequency of cocaine, heroin, and crack use and sexual victimization were also assessed. Log-binomial logistic regression with generalized estimating equation (GEE) methods was used to account for repeated measures for up to four time points. After adjustment for important covariates, participants that experienced physical victimization were significantly more likely to have acquired a high-risk sexual partner 1 year later (relative risk (RR), 3.73; 95 % confidence interval (CI), 1.55-8.97). Our study challenges gender-based stereotypes surrounding physical victimization and provides support for multidisciplinary programs that address both violence and HIV risk among illicit drugusing heterosexual men. KEYWORDS Physical victimization, Sexual risk behavior, Illicit drug users, Male victimsInjection drug users (IDUs) and non-injection drug users (non-IDUs) are at increased risk of being victims of physical violence compared to the general population. 1,2 In a substance abuse treatment sample, 61 % of men and 65 % of women reported being the victim of physical partner violence, and 75 % of men and 45 % of women reported physical victimization from a person other than an intimate partner in the past 12 months. 3 The HIV risk behaviors of an individual's sexual partners, in addition to condom use, have significant epidemiological implications for the Turner, Rivera, and Lewis are with the

Prevalencia de VIH y sus factores asociados en personas que se inyectan drogas atendidos en una institución prestadora de servicios de salud de Medellín-Colombia

“…La alta prevalencia se ha atribuido a la mayor vulnerabilidad de las mujeres frente a estas prácticas, para sostener su consumo de drogas o el de su pareja, exponiéndolas a un doble riesgo de contagio de VIH (27). Sin embargo, se debe precisar que la distribución por sexo en dichos estudios, no es comparable con el actual, por lo que se requiere más investigación en este campo, dado el doble riesgo de VIH, el atribuible al compartir jeringas y al no usar condón al tener relaciones sexuales bajo el efecto de las sustancias (28). Esto cobra mayor importancia al considerar que recibir dinero o drogas a cambio de sexo entre la población PID es frecuente, un estudio demuestra que estos realizan alguna actividad asociada con droga, ya sea vender, inyectar o realizar intercambios sexuales (29).…”

“…En términos epidemiológicos, la ONU en 2020 reportó 37,7 millones de personas con VIH en todo el mundo y 680.000 fallecimientos (4). Las cifras para Colombia en este mismo año informaron 123.490 casos, de los cuales 94.879 fueron hombres (76,83%), 28.593 mujeres (23,15%) y 18 intersexuales (0,01%); con mayor proporción de casos en Bogotá (22,54%), Antioquia (17,4%) y Valle del Cauca (12,87%). A su vez, se reportó que en el país el 42,5% de personas que viven con VIH pertenecía a una población clave (5).…”