US Research Suggests That Many HIV-positive Men Who Have Sex With Men Are Abused By Their Partners

The study included 168 men.

Just over half said they had been abused by a partner in the previous twelve months – and over three-quarters said they had been abused by a partner at some point.

Psychological abuse was the most commonly reported form of abuse, with 51% saying they’d experienced this in the past year.

Recent physical abuse was reported by a fifth of the men, and 10% said they’d experienced HIV-specific abuse.

The investigators noted that these levels of abuse are similar to those reported by HIV-positive women.

Physical abuse was associated with anxiety and depression.

But a surprising finding was that psychological abuse wasn’t associated with an increased risk of mental health problems.

This was a very small study, and the men who participated were often coping with difficult social circumstances.

But the researchers believe their findings point to a need to do more work to support men who are being abused by their partners, and conclude: “collaborative efforts with clients, providers, and public health officials will be needed to address partner abuse in a comprehensive manner. Given the extent of partner abuse and its deleterious effects, work on such interventions cannot begin too soon.”

The Friends of AIDS Foundation is dedicated to enhancing the quality of life for HIV positive individuals and empowering people to make healthy choices to prevent the spread of the HIV virus. To learn more about The Friends of AIDS Foundation, please visit: http://www.friendsofaids.org.

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