Most Singaporean men not practising safe sex abroad: survey

By Hasnita A Majid
November 29, 2004

Singapore - A worrying trend has emerged: a local study has shown Singaporean men are practising safe sex at home but are less likely to do so abroad.

The study, unveiled at the 4th Singapore AIDS Conference, has shown that as many as 8 in 10 men do not use condoms when they have sex with prostitutes overseas.

But when they are in Singapore, almost 9 in 10 men practise safe sex.

Experts say such behaviour puts them and their families at risk of sexually transmitted diseases.

Said Associate Professor Wong Mee Lian, assistant dean at the National University of Singapore's Faculty of Medicine, "If they don't practise safe sex and if they come back, they may spread it to their wives and girlfriends.

"And another concern is that one quarter of them continue to have sex with their wives and girlfriends even though they have symptoms of sexually transmitted diseases. So they form a bridge of infection to the community."

Prof Wong says that the most common reasons given for the non-usage of condoms include less enjoyment during sex and that the sex workers did not insist on them using one.

Another study found that more men are having sex with prostitutes.

In 1987, 12 percent of men polled had sex with prostitutes, but in 2001, almost 16 percent engaged in such behaviour.

The study also looked into their awareness of AIDS.

One in 10 think AIDS is curable, and 1 in 5 believes condoms will not protect them from AIDS even if used correctly.

In fact, the correct use of condoms can reduce the risk of transmission of any kind of sexually-transmitted diseases, including HIV/AIDS, by more than 90 percent.

A similar survey of men in Siem Reap, Cambodia, though, had different findings.

An interesting point that was thrown up by the survey was that although men in Siem Reap were less educated than the Singaporean men, they had a higher level of knowledge of AIDS.

Almost 90 percent knew that AIDS could be passed on from a mother to her child during breastfeeding, as compared to less than half of Singaporean men.

Experts say the study of behavioural patterns of the men who frequent prostitutes is useful, as it can help to plan for more effective prevention programmes for HIV and sexually-transmitted diseases.

These include educating prostitutes on the importance of condom usage and promoting family responsibility among men.

Prof Wong said, "It's also important for us to work with other countries and see what can be done to empower the sex workers to negotiate condom use and provide condoms to men.

"We have worked on this project in the early 1990s where we empower the sex workers to negotiate the use of condoms and the brothels to support the use of condoms among the brothel-based workers in Singapore. As a result, condom use has increased from less than 50 percent before these behavioural intervention programmes to more than 90 percent after that."

Another interesting find has also emerged at the AIDS conference.

A separate study by The National Skin Centre found 30 percent of over 3,000 licensed massage parlours actually offer sexual services - discreetly.

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