Yves Calmette (ACON) talks about the development of a risk reduction campaign for gay men that includes an online 'risk calculator'. This presentation was given at the AFAO/NAPWA Gay Men's HIV Health Promotion Conference in May 2012.

1. REVISITING SAFE SEX
Yves Calmette

5. Background and objectives

6. Background
It is very timely to
revisit safe sex and risk reduction
with the aim of building and updating the
knowledge, skills and ability of gay men
to make informed sexual decision making
choices.

7. Background

8. Background

9. Background

10. Background

11. Main objectives
To ensure that men gain a greater awareness of
• HIV transmission,
•The risks associated with non-condom based risk reducti
strategies and various sexual acts,
•How, why and whether risk reduction strategies work, an
to what degree.
…While reinforcing the role of condoms as the cornerstone of
gay men’s HIV prevention and the most assured protection
against HIV transmission.

12. Secondary objectives
• Encourage all gay men to engage in regular HIV/STI testing.
• Educate - and encourage communication - about HIV
status/viral load amongst partners.

13. Communication strategy

14. Communication strategy
• To acknowledge that men use non-condom based RRS and
that the choices gay men make are ultimately up to them.
• To reinforce condom use as the primary RRS.
• To direct gay men to tailored information on a dedicated
website about the level of risk involved in what they do, via a
series of print posters and web banners.

15. Creative
Print executions

21. Creative
Web banners

25. Creative
Website

38. Lessons learnt

39. Evaluation and review
•Clinically reviewed
• by Dr Chris Bourne, SSHC
•Pre evaluation
• External evaluation
• 6 focus groups of gay men
• HIV-, HIV+, Sydney, Regions, Older, Younger

40. Contingency plan
Briefing sessions
•ACON staff
• 5 sessions
•External stakeholders
• Media
• ASHM
• SOPVs
• Key community partners: Bears, SLPA, Convicts…

41. • Is ACON saying that gay men no longer need to use condoms?
Q&A
• Could this campaign increase HIV transmission by encouraging gay men to stop using condoms?
• Isn’t this campaign encouraging unsafe and risky sexual practices?
• Given the success of ACON’s condom reinforcement campaign in stabilising HIV transmission in
NSW, why change the message now?
• The campaign states that the success of risk reduction strategies is dependent on knowing the
HIV status of one’s sexual partner/s. If a person tells you they’re HIV-negative, how can you
certain that they are?
• The campaign states that the success of risk reduction strategies is dependent on sexual partners
with HIV having an undetectable viral load (UDVL). Given that viral load is different in blood,
semen and anal mucus, how is it possible to be certain about a sexual partner’s viral load when
the only commonly available measure of it is via blood samples?
Does UDVL in the blood also lower (generally speaking) your VL in other body fluids
• What about blips in VL in between the 3 month period
• Q Is ACON saying it’s OK to get HIV or that HIV is no longer a big deal?
• What about status unknown ! will there be information on how certain activities and length of
time since last test might mean they are now positive ?
• What about the fact that different treatments have varying impact on levels of detectable VL in
different fluids
• What about reinfection, New information from CROI
• Will this campaign increases the rates of STI’s. Is this message the same for STI’s

42. Launch date: June 4

43. Acknowledgement
•Geoff Honnor, ACON
•Dermot Ryan, ACON
•Tony Tang, ACON

44. Thank You
ycalmette@acon.org.au