Exploring Commercial Sex Encounters in an Urban Community Sample of Gay and Bisexual Men

Abstract Prior research on gay and bisexual men who are paid for sex has been shaped by the bias towards sampling street-based men. Fewer studies have sampled men who pay for sex, and fewer still have attempted to identify men who report both paying and being paid for sex. The goal of this study was to obtain a descriptive “snapshot” of commercial sex encounters (CSEs) in a sexually active community sample of gay and bisexual men. Men completed a brief survey at a series of gay community events. Nearly half of the men reported paying for and/or having been paid for sex. Respondents who had been paid for sex were younger, more likely to be HIV positive, and reported more unsafe sex and substance use than non-CSE experienced men. Those who had paid or been paid for sex in the previous three months reported greater sexual risk behaviors than those who had not. These findings indicate that CSE experienced men remain a group at risk for infection or transmission of HIV and other STIs, as well as substance use or abuse. Implications for intervention are discussed.