NEGOTIATED SAFETY - SEXUAL PRACTICES AMONG YOUNG GAY INJECTING DRUG-USERS

A number of commentators have argued that gay men are negotiating with their sexual partners as to whether condom use should occur and that under certain conditions dispensing with condom use is a rational stra tegy which protects against the risk of HIV infection. Using data deri ved from a larger study of young gay men in Sydney and Melbourne, Aust ralia who inject drugs, the question is posed regarding whether the hi gh incidence of sexual activity without the use of condoms can be expl ained hv reference tn thp partners' sexual negotiations which are ensu ring safety. The study outlines the ideal typical conditions which wou ld need to be present for it to be justified to use the term 'negotiat ed safety'. The data reveals that of the 35 men who were interviewed, 14 were sometimes deviating from these conditions and practising sex u nsafely. This included four men who were HIV positive. The data also r eveals that whilst the language of sexual negotiation is used and gene rally understood by participants in the study, for the most part it wa s the interviewers who initiated discussion of negotiation strategies, rather than the interviewees. The paper argues that negotiating safe sex may be more elusive than some commentators believe and that becaus e it is rare for all the conditions to be present, which a genuine two -way negotiation requires, universal condom use might be more advisabl e for some groups.