Is your husband gay? Health promotion campaigns targeting female partners of Men who have Sex with Men.
Through the partnerships of PozHet, Loud Communications, and Pink Media, Women Partners of Men who have Sex with Men established an innovative health promotion campaign targeting reduction of heterosexual HIV transmission within NSW.
Why was this needed?
Globally, Sydney Australia is leading the global HIV elimination transmission goal through health promotion, prioritisation of Men who have Sex with Men demographics, rapid and readily available treatment of PreP. PreP is an antiretroviral medication for individuals living without HIV to decrease their chances of catching HIV through unprotected sexual intercourse. However an often-invisible transmission pathway within NSW is that of heterosexual transmission. Whilst heterosexual transmission within NSW is lower than Men who have Sex with Men(MSM), female partners of MSM are at increased risk of transmission as they are often unaware of the high-risk sexual behaviours their partners are participating in. (1,2) Many Women Partners of Men who have Sex with Men are in long term, believed to be monogamous relationships, and therefore safer sexual practices may not always occur, which increases the risk of HIV transmission.
The health promotion campaign aims were:
1) call to action for men to disclose their sexual activities to their female partners
2) increase visibility of their at-risk female partners
3) both cohorts were encouraged to complete comprehensive Sexual Health (SH) testing.
How was this achieved?
LOUD Communications, Pink Media and WPMSM developed two separate 6-week advertising campaigns – digital banners ran on Grindr for male targeted ads with the wording “Isn’t it time she knew?”
which took audience to WPMSM's "HIV Should I test for it?" landing page HIV
Women’s targeted ads were with the words “Is your husband gay?”
Women’s lived experience was also targeted through written articles in:
Mamamia "My Husband Cheated on me with a Man"
Star Observer "Pink and Red Flags"
The second female only targeted media campaign included digital banners on social media, programmatic display and broad reach. The female only targeted campaign’s Call to Action was “Need support? Contact us”.
What did we achieve?
Three achievements occurred-
1. The campaigns were successful in, increased visibility of heterosexual HIV transmission demonstrated by 851 individuals engaging with the HIV landing page includes information HIV testing, reasons for testing and testing options and locations.
2. Awareness was raised of the Women Partners of Men who have Sex with Men service including demonstrated by an annual increase of 11 new counselling clients during 2003-2024, compared to the same period of 2022-2023.
3. Of importance, the campaign reached regional and remote areas of NSW which may not have the same exposure to day-to-day interaction with MSM, services and specific needs. Areas with higher than industry standard CTR include Wollongong (17% CTR), Central Coast (6.67% CTR), Macarthur (3.77% CTR), Greater Western Sydney (3% CTR) and Southern NSW (3% CTR).This information will guide WPMSM’s next stage of targeted regional/remote service promotion by contacting service providers within these key areas.
References:
1) NSW Health. NSW HIV Data Report [Internet] Quarter 3 July – September 2023.2023[cited 2024 Feb): NSW Government. Available from:https://www.health.nsw.gov.au/endinghiv/Publications/q3-2023-nsw-hiv-data-report.pdf
2) Hamilton RA, Wells Y, Higgs P. A Retrospective Cohort Study of Women and Men Living with HIV, Attending an HIV Clinic in Australia. Womens Health Rep (New Rochelle).2022 Nov 9;3(1):915-923. doi: 10.1089/whr.2022.0038.
