Older men may avoid HIV tests due to 'mass homophobia of the 1980s', says study
Researchers say it's possible the testing behaviour of older men is still affected by prejudices of decades ago.
Friday 9 August 2019 15:48, UK
Older gay men could be avoiding an HIV test because of the "mass homophobia of the 80s", according to new research.聽
Researchers at Glasgow Caledonian University say they face an increased health risk because of homophobic stigma rooted in the past.
The study analysed data from 2,436 men who use gay websites and apps to meet other men.
Its aim was to establish if age was a factor in the frequency of HIV testing.
It questioned men from Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland.
It found that older men who reported higher levels of gay stigma and who did not identify as gay were significantly less likely to have had an HIV test in the past year.
Researcher Dr Jamie Frankis said: "Homophobic stigma is having a negative impact on the health of our older men, but not younger men who've lived through periods with less homophobia and greater equality.
"It is possible that older men are still troubled by the mass homophobia of the 80s and that is affecting their own testing behaviour.
"They could still be harbouring fears around HIV as a heavily stigmatised infection rather than the HIV of today, which is a highly manageable condition."
Dr Frankis said for older men, it looked like the barriers seem to come up in terms of their own management of sexual identity within the wider culture that they are living in.
"That would speak to the homophobia that was highly present in the 80s at the onset of HIV when gay men, who are now over 45, would have been young and they would have experienced massive homophobia, anti-gay and anti-HIV stigma," he said.
There was also the introduction of the Section 28 clause during that period, which banned schools and local authorities from 'promoting' homosexuality, Dr Frankis said.
Gay sex was only decriminalised in the 80s in Scotland and Northern Ireland and the 1990s in the Republic of Ireland.
"It was a very different socio-legal period for gay men than it is now. Living through these periods seems to dictate the way you see yourself and interact with society," Dr Frankis said.
In 2016, just over a million, or 2%, of the UK population aged 16 and over
The study, which looked at a range of factors affecting preparedness to be tested for HIV, also found that younger men were less likely to be tested if they did not have a university degree.
Geographical location also appeared to influence who tested for HIV in the youngest and oldest age groups, particularly in Wales and the Republic of Ireland.
Dr Frankis said: "It is difficult to say why younger men in the Republic of Ireland and older men in Wales were less likely to test for HIV.
"Further research is needed here, but this does tell us that we need to concentrate on HIV testing promotion on different age groups in those two locations.
"Only half of the men in our study had an HIV test in true last year when we want closer to 100% annual testing," he said.