SA LGBTQI students: It’s complicated!
A study of LGBTQI South African students has painted a complex picture of sexuality and found that they face discrimination, violence and a lack of resources.
The first-ever survey of its kind, the study investigated MSM (men who have sex with men) as well as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer and intersex (LGBTQI) students’ knowledge, attitudes, perceptions and behaviours relating to sex, HIV and alcohol and substance use.
According to the findings, just over 10 percent of the MSM students experienced some form of abuse and/or violence based on their sexual orientation at higher education institutions.
Sexual violence was also one of the most concerning factors highlighted in the study. More than one in 10 of the MSM students reported having been forced to have sexual intercourse against their will and three percent indicated that they have threatened to use force to get someone to have sex when they did not want to. Just under 10 percent reported having been hit by a current or previous sex partner.
The researchers said that student MSM are not radically different from other young people in their patterns of risk-taking in relation to sex and HIV but that a lack of dedicated education and health services leaves them more exposed to the risk of infection.
The study found that many MSM are well informed about HIV. Unfortunately, this high degree of awareness did not equate with the avoidance of risky sexual behaviours.
About a half (52%) of MSM said they at some point used alcohol and/or drugs during sex while about a fifth had used it during the last sexual act, and both MSM and non-MSM students inconsistently use protective measures such as condoms and lubricants.
Also, sex with someone other than a primary partner is more common among MSM (71.9%) than in the non-MSM group (45.1%), which raises MSM’s risk of STIs, including HIV.
Verbal and physical abuse and judgemental attitudes
The study was conducted at 14 higher education institutions and was undertaken by Jaco Greeff Brink, from the Stellenbosch University Institutional HIV Office on behalf of the Networking HIV/AIDS Community of South Africa (NACOSA).
Its sample group of 8,869 students included 10 percent who said that they are MSM (but don’t necessarily identify as gay); viewed by researchers as a positive sign of openness about their sexuality, despite overall feelings of vulnerability and marginalisation.
Of the total sample, 69 percent identified themselves as heterosexual, 16 percent as homosexual, six percent as bisexual and nine percent as “other” forms of sexual orientation. The majority (71.2%) of MSM identified as homosexual, but 20% reported being bisexual and 7.4% were heterosexual. In fact, around 54% of MSM said they’d had sex with a female parter in the past year.
The study concluded that discrimination and homophobic attitudes prevent young MSM and LGBTQI people from accessing sexual health services and can make them more vulnerable to sexual coercion and other forms of violence.
“Verbal and physical abuse and judgemental attitudes negatively affect the self-esteem of many MSM on campus which in turn contributes to risky behaviours and the avoidance of the services in place to support them,” said Sophie Hobbs, writing for NACOSA.
At the launch of the study, Mduduzi Manana, Deputy Minister of Higher Education and Training, said: “It is important to recognise the multiplicity of sexual orientations among students and the behaviours associated with various sexual orientations. This report provides a glimpse of the diverse ways in which young people experience sex, relationships and intimacy – and it explores the implications of this diversity for sexual health.”
He noted that, “MSM and non-MSM students score similarly on having knowledge about HIV – but this study also shows that we have not focused on the former group’s specific health and psychological needs and adequate support.
“We have been leaving them behind – and we must now change this,” urged Deputy Minister Manana.
Dr Ramneek Ahluwalia, Director of Higher Education & Training HIV/AIDS Programme (HEAIDS), said that the findings of the survey will inform further research and programmes aiming to protect students of all sexual orientations from HIV, and support them in other areas of health and lifestyle.
“This provides a return on our investment in healthcare, allowing young people to contribute to the welfare of their own families, to our sector and to the economy of the nation as a whole,” he commented.
Pardon me for anyone who take offence but I don’t think we can ever accept the term ‘men who have sex with men’ (M2M) as a valid group or term in the general gay community, as the characteristics of this group is pretty much (if not) exactly the same as gay men, or more so that of bisexual men.
Why they should be ‘specialized’ in a new term is above me! The one key to this for me lies in the biological factors (science), namely that we human beings use all five of our general senses when it comes to engaging in sexual activity (including psychological senses – or the ‘sixth sense’). If you body is accepting of a same-sex experience on some or all of those senses, then you basically are gay or bisexual. We cannot scream sexuality as a ‘born this way’ (biological factors – part or in full) if we cannot take this also in consideration for the ‘M2M debate’.
Key number to for me lies more in the emotional factors – which will speak for itself inline with the above paragraph.
There is enough sexual ‘abuse’ by some people who wish to use some members of the gay community for sexual pleasures, to even open another door for ‘acceptance’ to that extend is not wise. I’m not saying M2M’s are sexual predators, I just think it is more likely that they will ‘classify’ themselves under this group.
Are we soon going to get the W2W group (woman who have sex with woman)? And then the B2B and T2B and I2I, and then the a and b and z and IIV? And cup cakes who have sex with cup cakes!
We are really pushing labels here which has basically no additional meaning, respect or purpose?
The general term for M2M is a man who have sex with another man, but is not gay, and have no interest in ‘being gay’. You explain to me how that is not somehow bi or gay (keeping in mind what I’ve already said) then let’s see where that debate goes. I don’t think it will end in much fruits. Perhaps an ‘M2M Man’ should come forward and try to explain this, before I think anyone in this community might consider respect for this group.
I think including them in statistics may mess up the reality for real groups conforming to the LGBTI community, with real LGBTI problems!
Otherwise we may include people who were drunk one night and happened to have a same sex experience (though straight) as part of the LGBTI community; then basically anything can be included, and it will ruin any bit of debate (and fight) the gay community may have put up to gain respect from traditionally straight governments and legal systems. (For example I’m definitely not in the mood to be an activist for drunk people)
I think those M2M’s should be regarded as a separate group all together on their own. Not everything in the world is so simple that it can be categorized under one umbrella. I don’t think LGBTI-activism resources should be dedicated to such a group.
Anyone wish to enlighten me, please do!
*two not to