TITLE:
Epidemiological Profile of Men Who Have Sex with Men: First Data about Male Sex Workers in Central African Republic (CAR)
AUTHORS:
Hermione Dahlia Mossoro-Kpinde, Balekouzou Augustin, Paola Julienne Demba, Henri Saint Calvaire Diemer
KEYWORDS:
Men Who Have Sex with Men, Sex Workers, Gender-Based Violence, Informal Sector, Central Africa
JOURNAL NAME:
Advances in Sexual Medicine,
Vol.14 No.1,
March
27,
2024
ABSTRACT: Objectives: Sex work is not well documented among African men. The aim of this study was to
describe the epidemiological profile of men who have sex with men (MSM) and
eventually to determine the proportion of sex workers (SW) among them, as well as
the proportion of MSM who have been victims of gender-based violence (GBV). Material
and Methods: A cross-sectional study coordinated by the Direction de la
Médecine du Travail was carried out at the headquarters of the association ALTERNATIVES in Bangui Bangui from July 1 to October 31, 2021. Consenting MSM present
during the study period were systematically included. Sociodemographic
variables, those relating to the future vision of the activity and to GBV were
collected and analyzed using Epi-Info version 7 software. Results: Forty
MSM with an average age of 23 years and mainly secondary education (75.0%) were
included. The vast majority of MSM were unemployed (85.0%). 45.0% had been
victims of GBV and wanted to stop working as
an MSM (47.5%), and almost 2/3 (65.0%) would accept another
income-generating activity in exchange for the MSM. Violence was sexual (32.5%), economic (22.5%), physical (20.0%), verbal
(12.5%) and psychological (12.5%). Conclusion: The MSM were mainly young, poorly educated, unemployed, and almost half were
victims of GBV. The desire to change MSM activity to another
income-generating activity alongside that of MSM shows that many of them are
SW, workers in the informal sector. This must be taken into account in
prevention activities, even if the data needs to be confirmed on a much larger
sample.