Addressing semen loss concerns: Towards culturally appropriate HIV/AIDS interventions in Gujarat, India

A situation analysis of sexual networking and sexual health in on industria l area of Gujarat, India, identified anxiety about masturbation and other s emen loss concerns as major preoccupations among young men. This paper desc ribes how the Deepak Charitable Trust addressed these concerns in their HIV prevention programme for young men aged 75 to 30. Flowcharts were used as participatory learning tools and to obtain data on the perceived consequenc es of masturbation, both before and after intervention activities. Research was also done on the relation between semen-related anxieties and sexual r isk behaviour by DCT and two other NGOs among young men engaging in unsafe sexual behaviour. DCT advocates addressing masturbation and other semen los s concerns in all sexual health compaigns in South Asia, based on the magni tude of these concerns, their potential to confound syndromic management of STIs and their significance cis on idiom of psychosocial distress. Masturb ation and associated anxieties about sexual performance are seen as health issues and discussed cis such by the programme. There is immediate identifi cation among young men, whether or not they are already sexually active, an d it provides an excellent entry point for sexual health and safer sex educ ation. The community response to these efforts has been entirely positive.