Perceptions and experiences of sexual violence among Chinese men who have sex with men in Hong Kong.
Edmond Pui Hang Choi, Jojo Yan Yan Kwok, Kitty Wai Ying Choi and 7 others
PMID 35909096WHAT IT FOUND
Chinese men using dating apps described sexual violence including condom removal without consent, forced chemsex, attempted sex in saunas, and image abuse.
After incidents they feared HIV and STIs, lost reputation, and faced stigma. Some underestimated risk or said prevention was hard.
Key findings
01Participants described sexual violence across physical and virtual settings, including condom removal without consent, forced chemsex, attempted non-consensual sex in gay saunas, and image-based sexual violence.
02After sexual violence, participants reported fear of HIV or STIs and stigma in family and workplace.
03Some participants thought sexual violence was less likely to happen to them, while others said stigma made it hard to seek help.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for RNs
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What it does not show
The findings come from 31 dating app users in Hong Kong, so they may not represent men who have sex with men who do not use dating apps or people in other settings. The study reports experiences and perceptions, not how common sexual violence was in this population. The findings are culturally specific to Chinese men who have sex with men in Hong Kong and may not transfer to other contexts. The study did not further explore participants' experiences of reporting incidents to police or other authorities.
Declared interests
The study was funded by the Early Career Scheme, Research Grants Council, Hong Kong. Funding also included an Australian National Health and Medical Research Council Emerging Leadership Investigator Grant. The authors declared no conflict of interest.
The easy way to misread this
Do not read these themes as evidence that any prevention strategy works or that gay saunas are inherently unsafe. The study describes what participants said in interviews; it did not test interventions or compare outcomes.