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Hermanos de Luna y Sol

HIV Risk Factors for Latino Gay/Bisexual Men

Among gay and bisexual men in the US, the HIV epidemic is becoming an epidemic of mostly ethnic minority men. In 1998, for the first time in the epidemic, the majority of new AIDS cases among men who have sex with men (MSM) were diagnosed in ethnic minority men (1). As overlapping members of two high-risk groups ("Latinos" and "men who have sex with men" –MSM-), Latino gay/bisexual men in the U.S. have been highly and disproportionately affected by the AIDS epidemic, showing the highest rates of HIV seroprevalence, seroconversion, and unprotected intercourse with multiple partners (2)

By June 1999, a total of 51,681 AIDS cases had been diagnosed among Hispanic/Latino MSM; Latino MSM thus constitute about one half (49 percent) of all reported Latino male AIDS cases in the nation (3)

The social and sexual lives of many Latino gay and bisexual mean have been impacted by at least three social oppressive forces –poverty, racism and homphobia- that acting in an unfortunate synchrony, tend to produce devastating experiences of social alienation and personal shame.

See "Social Discrimination and Health" PDF format monography for detailed information on the HIV risk factors for Latino Gay/Bisexual Men in the U.S. [Spanish version; English version]

Also "Latino Gay Men and HIV" discusses the six main sociocultural factors in Latino communities -- machismo, homophobia, family cohesion, sexual silence, poverty and racism--which undermine safe sex practices. This work is based on focus group and individual interviews in the United States, as well as a thorough and integrative review of the current literature.

Notes:

1) Centers for Disease Control and Prevention "U.S., HIV and AIDS Among Racial/Ethnic Minority Men Who Have Sex with Men-United States," Morbitidy and Mortality ‘Weekly Report, 49(1), 2000.

2) Díaz, R.M., Latino Gay Men and HIV: Culture, Sexuality, and Risk Behavior, New York: Routledge, 1998.

3) Centers for Disease Control and Prevention "U.S., HIV and AIDS cases reported thorough December 1999", HIV/AIDS Surveillance Report, year-end edition 11(2), 1999.