Open relationships are now the most common form of partnership in gay and bi men
Open relationships are now most common form of partnership among gay and bisexual men, a new survey has found.
The survey taken by The Melbourne Gay Community Periodic Survey into the sexual behaviour of gay and bisexual men in the Australian state of Victoria found that 32% of the 2886 men questioned were in open relationships.
This compared to the 31% of respondents who said they were in monogamous relationships, and the 23% who said they were only having casual sex.
Meanwhile, almost half of respondents (48%) reported using the hook-up apps like Grindr to meet other men, while the increasing shift towards technology was reinforced by the fact that just 29% said they met men in bars.
The results also indicated that gay and bisexual men men were taking more of an interest in their sexual health, with the number of men who’d had three or more HIV tests in the last year rising to 22.8%, up from 11.9% in 2012.
The survey also revealed that 5.1% of HIV negative men said they on HIV-preventing pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) medication.
“In these results we can see how testing behaviour is changing,” said the Victorian Aids Council’s director health promotion, policy, and communications, Colin Batrouney.
“The proportion of gay men who have had at least three HIV tests in the previous 12 months has almost doubled over the past five years.
“Testing every three months is particularly important if you’re having sex with a lot of different guys, and these look like the kind of men who are testing more frequently.”
You can read the survey’s full results here.
Words: Darren Mew
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