The AIDS Foundation is concerned over results from a new survey that show over half of Kiwis are having unsafe sex without knowing their partner's sexual history. The 2004 Durex Global Sex Survey, which did not ask respondents to specify sexual orientation, found 57% were having unsafe sex, an increase of 20% on last year. Paradoxically, 51% of survey participants also said their main sexual health concern was HIV/AIDS. "We're now at the stage where roughly equal numbers of people are being diagnosed in New Zealand each year with heterosexually and homosexually-transmitted HIV, so no-one, whatever their gender or sexuality, can afford to be complacent," says Rachael LeMesurier, the AIDS Foundation executive director. "But, being worried about HIV is not going to protect anyone unless that worry is translated into a positive action by people choosing to use condoms for anal or vaginal intercourse." Information about number of sexual partners was intriguing in light of constant Christian conservative attempts to highlight the promiscuity of gay men. The survey found Kiwis had an average of 12 sexual partners, higher than the global result. One in fifteen men claimed to have had over fifty.
Credit: GayNZ.com News Staff
First published: Thursday, 14th October 2004 - 12:00pm