Marseille 2007
| Abstract #503 - Risk among MSM in Tbilisi, Georgia | ||||
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Session: 23.8: Sex and Risk (Parallel) on Monday @ 16.30-18.30 in CP Chaired by Ulrike Sonnenberg Schwan, Marc-Eric Gruenais Authors: Presenting Author: Dr Elizabeth Costenbader - RTI, International, United States |
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| Additional Authors: Dr Elizabeth Costenbader, Dr William Zule, Mr Curtis Coomes, Dr David Otiashvili, | ||||
| Aim: Little is known about men who have sex with men (MSM) in Georgia. Prevalence of HIV among Georgian MSM is estimated at 3%. However this is believed to be an underestimate as the behavior is largely unreported and to date there are no published studies of MSM behavior in the Republic of Georgia. This presentation reports findings from a qualitative pilot study examining the prevalence and context of MSM behavior in Tbilisi that may influence the future course of the epidemic. | ||||
| Method / Issue: Two focus groups with 6 men each and 10 individual in-depth interviews were conducted with MSM in Tbilisi, Georgia between October 2006 and February 2007. Study participants were recruited through Tanadgoma, a local NGO that has been providing anonymous, free testing and counseling for STIs and HIV since 2000. Focus groups and interviews were conducted in Georgian and audio-taped. Taped interviews were transcribed in Georgian and then translated into English for analysis. The qualitative software AskSam was used to search for emerging themes in the interview transcripts. | ||||
| Results / Comments: Respondents ranged in age from 22 to 59. While more than half were college educated only three of the men reported being currently employed. All of them estimated that there was a large population of MSM living in Tbilisi but agreed that MSM activity was stigmatized and therefore largely a hidden behavior. Several men reported being afraid of severe consequences, including physical violence, were they to be found out. Men reported that the most common way to conceal homosexual tendencies was to get married and felt that most wives were ignorant of their husbands MSM activities. Respondents felt it was much more common to have multiple male partners than just one at a time and, while men knew that they should use condoms, they all mentioned a variety of extenuating circumstances in which they engaged in unprotected sex. All of the men agreed that MSM sex for money was a common practice in Tbilisi although only a few admitted to engaging in this behavior themselves. Respondents made a distinction between givers and takers and reported that the taker always dictated whether or not a condom was used. Some of the men also mentioned group sex parties or engaging in sex while on drugs. | ||||
| Discussion: A new and understudied HIV epidemic is quickly unfolding in the Eastern European countries of the former Soviet Union. MSM in Georgia constitute a population highly vulnerable to sexually-transmitted HIV infection especially in light of the strong stigma attached to homosexuality, which makes getting messages and services to these men particularly difficult. If unprotected anal intercourse with multiple concurrent partners is as common among other MSM in Georgia as in our sample, the potential exists for rapid increases in HIV in this population. Additional research is needed to assess the prevalence and context of risk behaviors in this population. In the meantime, HIV education and prevention efforts to begin reducing risk in this population should be implemented. | ||||
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