Sexual Behaviour and HIV Infection Risks in Indian Homosexual Men: A Cross-Cultural Comparison

A comparison of sexual activities in 49 homosexually active northwest Indian men attending STD clinics was made with 173 homosexually active Australian men from a community sample. There were major differences between the two on frequency of marriage and of bisexual behaviour (significantly higher in the Indian sample), condom use for anal intercourse, and of oral sex (significantly higher in the Australian sample). There was also a substantial level of heterosexual anal intercourse reported in the Indian sample. While preliminary and based on nonmatched and nonrandom samples, these data suggest that the sexual activity profile and degree of risk of homosexual behaviour may differ considerably between the two cultures, and that data on homosexual activities in western societies should not be generalized to nonwestern cultures.