This health article will focus on issues that may reduce the willingness of visitors to gay saunas in Thailand to practice safer sex. While having sex might not be the exclusive function of gay saunas, it is unquestionably an important part of what people do there. For this reason, promoting safer sex in such saunas is highly important for HIV prevention. Most sauna operators already collaborate in HIV protection by offering free condoms for those using the service (the visitors). However, it seems that by looking at the details of sauna visitors' behavior and the layout of the saunas, these health promotion efforts could be strengthened. Some issues that have been noticed during visits to saunas involve the following.

       In some saunas, free condoms are available only from a counter. Many guests might find that this is not discreet enough. Consequently, these guests will shy away from asking for condoms from the establishment. Some of these visitors will bring their own condoms, but others might simply practice unsafe sex as a result of this problem. Condoms should be distributed in a discreet and most accessible way. One way to do this is to place them in the visitors' lockers. This is one option currently in use in some of the saunas. However, it is not without problems.

       The places where the visitors usually have sex are the dim corridors and private rooms reserved for this purpose. Steam rooms also see some action. If the condoms are at hand only at the lockers, a visitor might not know where to keep the condom while not using it. When the sexual urge has awaken (perhaps with an accompanying erection), not many visitors would like to walk all the way to the lockers (that might be located a couple of floors upstairs or downstairs). Some such visitors might have unprotected sex as a result. This problem exists because visitors typically only wear underwear, swimwear or a towel. These outfits typically do not have pockets, although there are some exceptions. Towels and swimwear with a small pocket do exist and providing these for the visitors could eliminate the problem of where to keep the condom.

       However, one problem exists whenever visitors have to carry condoms around for extended periods of time. Saunas - by definition - have steam rooms and dry, hot rooms. The heat of these rooms can damage condoms and make them less reliable. For this reason, guests should be warned against taking condoms to hot rooms. However, at the moment, visitors who want to be prepared for the moment when they can find a sex partner have got only two options, neither of them not very good: either to keep the condom in the locker (which reduces the condom's availability), or to take it with oneself when entering hot rooms (which reduce the condom's reliability).

       For this reason, one should look for an alternative (or complementary) strategy for condom distribution. Ideally, condoms should be available nearby the place where they are likely to be used. One way to do this is the use of distributing machines. However, one should then find a way to operate them without the visitor having to pay, because people do not carry money around in saunas - and some people are unwilling to pay anyway. Perhaps a better way would be to give all staff members condoms, so that for example staff controlling one particular area or zone could also give out condoms for visitors that need them. This has the problem of being not very discreet, but it should be much easier for visitors to ask for condoms in those areas that are typically entered for the purpose of having sex than to walk across the complex to ask for them at a front counter. Placing the condoms with staff also would help staff to control that condoms are not collected in quantities suitable for resale. Some saunas might have to place extra staff or move existing staff to stay closer to the private rooms to make the condoms more available.
It seems feasible that at least some cases of HIV and other STD's could be prevented by considering these issues and adjusting the conditions in the saunas accordingly.

(article by Mr. Timo, an English speaking health counsellor available for counselling until 30 Nov. 2006. Email: counseling@fasiroong.org)

SAFE SEX ALWAYS! HIV– or HIV+

Additional information on this subject can be found online at: