In A Spirited Motion

Survey Says!: Mens Attitudes on Sexual health and Risky Behaviors

There are plenty of surveys going around concerning Black MSM and all factions of gay men who have sex with men in the information pipeline. Kemi Amola, is among those researching this behavior as apart of her dissertation quest. According to the info on the linked page, the purpose of the study is to understand men’s views on sexual health in order to better understand risk behaviors. This knowledge will help inform researchers in designing interventions. Designed for males over 18, the study seeks to asked a variety of questions including questions about sexual practices, mood and demographic information such age, race, and income. Although some questions are sensitive the researcher hopes all participants will be as honest as possible when completing the questionnaire. The Living Affected Corporation is sharing this information as a community service and assumes no liability for this exercise or outcomes. For those who complete the survey they will be given the chance to be entered into a drawing for a $100 Visa gift card. This is the direct link to the info page and consent form:  http://ncsu.qualtrics.com//SE/?SID=SV_9mg4cG2AtMPiVpi


From the Random Thoughts File:

Arrested for Carrying Condoms?

NCHRC Interviews Megan McLemore

                                                Senior Researcher at Human Rights Watch

There is a disturbing trend happening across the country and we can now add one more casualty to the list of Things-That-Shouldn’t-Be-Illegal-But-Are: CONDOMS. Though condoms themselves are not illegal, in many cities they can be used as the basis for police harassment and arrest or as evidence of prostitution in court. In New York City, Washington DC and San Francisco, police are using the number of condoms women are carrying to justify profiling them as prostitutes, and even to bolster an arrest on charges of sexual solicitation.

Megan McLemore, Senior Researcher with Human Rights Watch, became interested in the issue while on outreach with the North Carolina Harm Reduction Coalition (NCHRC) in East Durham, North Carolina last spring. Megan has been working on issues related to HIV and human rights in the South for the last two years. Part of her research has focused on harm reduction, pushing to expand access to syringe exchange, medication-assisted treatment (methadone and buprenorphine) and other responses to drug use that are based in public health rather than the criminal law. While visiting with the North Carolina Harm Reduction Coalition, Megan accompanied the outreach workers as they distributed supplies in East Durham and was shocked when a Durham sex worker refused the offer of free condoms over fears of harassment or arrest from local police. Megan began investigating the practice and found the criminalization of condoms to be prevalent in many U.S. cities. To date no such harrassment or incidents of this practice has been reported in Arkansas. She plans to complete a full investigative report for Human Rights Watch by next summer. To date, Megan hasn’t discovered any condom arrests in North Carolina, through there is ample evidence to prove that sex workers think they can get arrested for carrying rubbers, and the perception is just as harmful as the real thing.

The public health consequences of condom criminalization, or even the fear of it, are severe. Taking away condoms won’t put sex workers out of business, but it will put them, their clients and the community at large at greater risk of HIV and STD transmission. The Living Affected Corporation takes the position that in Arkansas the infection rates of sex workers have not been apart of the dialog nor any substantial tracking mechcanism created or deployed to address this segment of the community. Furthermore, the ongoing unmet need of over 4,000 people which could possibly consist of sex workers should be a distinct factor that must become mandate of our public health system.

“It’s a public health imperative that sex workers and their clients have access to condoms,” says Megan McLemore.She’s not alone. The Center for Disease Control (CDC) and other public health organizations have also denounced the practice as contributing to the spread of disease.

But, as Megan explains, her research is not all about condoms. “This report will go beyond public health. It’s part of a growing advocacy movement among sex workers to stand up for their human rights. Other people don’t get arrested for protecting their health.”

The Human Rights Watch report on condom criminalization is set to be published in the summer of 2012. Until then, Megan will continue to contact and interview individuals and organizations who have seen or experienced police harassment or arrest for condom possession.

If you have any information about this practice, please contact Megan McLemore at mclemom@hrw.org with your story.