These men never show up at gay bars, afraid to be found out. Many are married with children but still occasionally sleep with other men. They refuse to be labeled “gay” or “bisexual,” insisting that their gay male partners may as well be women. With their layered identities and secretive, high-risk sexual practices, this group of “men who have sex with men” — an epidemiological term commonly used by HIV/AIDS workers — has become one of the toughest groups for health-care authorities around the world to target.
They make up a “hidden community,” AIDS experts say, usually prevalent in cultures where the social stigma attached to homosexuality is severe. In some cultures, sex between men is prohibited outright; in the Islamic Republic of Mauritania in Africa, for example, gay sex is cause for execution, which drives many men underground and increases their likelihood of engaging in risky sex. Robert Gray, regional representative of Population Services International (PSI) Asia, an international NGO, predicts that this high-risk group will become a major driving force of the HIV/AIDS epidemic in Asia, Eastern Europe and other places over the next decade.
(text and foto by TIMES)
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