Kegebein V, Bense B, Wohlfeiler D; International Conference on AIDS.

Int Conf AIDS. 1992 Jul 19-24; 8: D408 (abstract no. PoD 5128).

San Francisco Dept of Public Health, AIDS Office, CA.

OBJECTIVES: To promote a policy of safe sex and physical safety in public and private sex clubs, and to minimize interference with the sexual civil liberties of gay males in these environments. METHODS: Community HIV/STD educators, sex club operators and patrons, public health staff, and local police and fire officials collaborated to promote HIV/STD education in sex clubs and to avert a crackdown on sexual activities in these clubs. A town meeting was hosted by the public health department to elicit support and commitment to implement guidelines for safe and healthy sex club operation. RESULTS: The guidelines were presented to twenty-six sex club operators who attended the town meeting. The public health department endorsed the guidelines and committed staff and financial resources for the provision of educational materials including condoms. Police and fire officials pledged to keep sex clubs open provided operators followed recommended guidelines. Operators voted to enforce a policy of safe sex and to follow local code, permit and licensing regulations. Local gay newspapers published the guidelines as accepted standards for sex club operation. CONCLUSIONS: Sex clubs are an important aspect of the gay male community, and should be regarded as prime sites for HIV/STD prevention efforts. In the San Francisco tradition, community HIV/STD educators identified a powerful means of outreach to sexually active men who have sex with men and garnered support for a collaborative partnership between usually underground clubs and the public health department. Failure to establish these partnerships would most likely result in increased HIV/STD infections and would drive these clubs further underground. Currently, HIV/STD educators are conducting an inventory of sex clubs in San Francisco and will publish a consumer-type report of these clubs' adherence to the guidelines.

Publication Types:

• Meeting Abstracts

Keywords:

• Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome
• Condoms
• HIV Infections
• HIV Seropositivity
• Homosexuality, Male
• Humans
• Male
• Public Health
• Residence Characteristics
• Safe Sex
• San Francisco
• Sexual Behavior
• organization & administration

Other ID:

• 92402636

UI: 102200350

From Meeting Abstracts