Homonegativity, sexual violence and condom use with women in men who have sex with men and women in West Africa.

OBJECTIVE

The study aimed to explore longitudinal interactions between homonegativity and sexual behaviors with female partners among HIV-negative West African men who have sex with men and women (MSMW).

DESIGN AND METHOD

The community-based cohort CohMSM ANRS 12324 - Expertise France enrolled MSM in Togo, Burkina Faso, Côte d'Ivoire and Mali. Sociobehavioral data were collected every 6 months. Using 30-month follow-up data, a multiprobit analysis was performed to investigate the relationship between psychosocial and behavioral variables ex-ante (t - 1) and ex-post (t).

RESULTS

MSMW (n = 326) accounted for half of all participants in CohMSM. They reported inconsistent condom use with women in 39% of visits. Perceived and internalized homonegativity at t - 1 tended to lead to sexual violence toward women at t (P < 0.1), which was associated with inconsistent condom use with them at t (P < 0.05).

CONCLUSION

Given the high HIV prevalence in West African MSM, widespread condom-less sex with women in MSMW, and the aggravating effect of social and internalized homonegativity, more research in the MSMW subpopulation is needed to assess the risk of HIV bridging to women and to design support activities.