Health Matters

Gay and bisexual men who move to Britain from overseas can be at increased risk of picking up or passing on HIV and other sexually transmitted infections (STIs).

If you understand the factors that lead to this increased risk of HIV infection, you can take steps to help reduce the vulnerability of these men.

Who is affected?

If you work with migrant population groups, you will probably be working with some men who are gay or bisexual, or those who think of themselves as heterosexual but have sex with men. However, they may not have told you about their sexuality.

Issues relating to sexuality are often why these men to move to Britain. For many, Britain offers the chance of a much more liberated life. It's a place where they can be out about their sexuality, without the fear of homophobic abuse, imprisonment or even death. They can be themselves.

But there's a serious HIV epidemic among men who have sex with men in Britain. About 1 in 20 men in England and Wales are HIV positive.

In cities with large gay communities, such as London, Brighton, Manchester and Birmingham, the figure is much higher, with around 1 in 8 positive.

Why are they taking risks?

New-found sexual liberation can lead to an outburst of sexual encounters and an increase in sexual risk taking. But these men may be unaware of the scale of the HIV epidemic or lacking in the knowledge and skills to protect themselves. For instance, poor English language skills can hamper a man's ability to negotiate safer sex.

Poor English skills can also hinder men's ability to find work or even socialise. This can leave them impoverished and marginalised. They can find themselves relying on sexual partners for somewhere to live, or relying on sex work to make ends meet. This can result in unequal power balances and make it more difficult to negotiate safer sex.

The gay scene is not a source of support. Instead, some migrant men say it is over-sexualised and not a place to make friends.

Help and support

Men often don't know what's available or where to turn to when they need help and support.

So we have include resources on this website to help you meet the particular needs of gay and bisexual service users. These include guidelines for organisations working with migrants and a service assessment tool.
You can also find some information about providing `gay friendly support' here.