UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
5A
Wednesday, September 27, 1995
Gay safe sex support group sought
KU employee hopes to address issues of loss and isolation
By Hannah Naughton
Kansan staff writer
Sex and communication don't mix well in the American culture, but Rich Crank wants to change that.
Crank, a staff member at Anschutz Science Library, is trying to start a support group in Lawrence to promote safe sex among gay men in Lawrence.
"I've had some friends die," Crank said. "They've contracted HIV through sexual contact. I've become real concerned that gay men I’ve met aren’t doing the condom thing, aren’t protecting themselves."
But Crank has had no response to the fliers he has given to the Douglas County
AIDS Project, the Multicultural Resource Center and LesBiGay Services of Kansas. He thinks he knows why.
"One friend said things have gotten a lot scarier in the past two years," Crank said. "People are more afraid of being out. The climate in the country is more conservative. Gay men and women are two of the leading groups hate messages are directed against."
Even though Crank has had no response, he said the group is still necessarv.
For men who have sex with men the number of reported cases of AIDS has decreased from 47.3 percent to 43.3 percent in the last five years, according to the HIV and AIDS surveillance report released in 1994 by the United States Department of Health and Human Services.
However, cases reported for college-age gay men have increased, said Janine Gracy, coordinator of health promotions
and education at Watkins Health Center.
"Young people are just notorious, number one, for taking risks with their health," Gracy said. "The only way we are going to halt this disease is by talking about it and taking action."
Crank said it was important to become more comfortable talking about sex and issues related to HIV and AIDS.
Often, he said, people who watch a close friend die of complications from AIDS can go through a sense of survival guilt.
"You have a feeling of 'I shouldn't have survived,' and because of this, engage in risky business," Crank said.
That is an issue he would like to address in the group, he said. He also would like to talk about how gay men deal with the negative messages they receive from society.
"We hear that we're not normal, not deserving of life," he said. "How badly that can destroy the positive parts of us
crank said he had first heard about this type of support group from the Seattle AIDS Support Group program Man Talk, and he thought it was a good idea.
and make us self-destruct."
David Clay, facilitator and coordinator for the Seattle program, said it had been going for two years and that it had helped about 200 men.
"What they don't understand is why they aren't following these simple rules," Clay said. "Often people know they are being unsafe. They know how to be safe. What's difficult is doing it."
Clay said the program helped people realize that the problem isn't just about sex. Often the men don't practice safe sex because of other emotional issues or problems with their self-image.
Crank said we wants to help gay men to cut down their risk-taking behavior with a similar support group.
"I would like fewer gay men to be infected with HIV," he said.
AIDS among gay males
During the last five years, several trends in AIDS have emerged among gay males ages 13 and older.
From Jan.-Jun. 1989 to Jan.-Jun. 1994
Midwest AIDS rates for men who have sex with men increased 51 percent.
AIDS rates in areas with a population less than 50,000 increased 69 percent during this time.
Even though rural areas experienced an increase in their AIDS cases, they continue to have the lowest overall rates.
Rates in areas with a population between 50,000 and 1 million increased 55 percent.
Rates in areas with a population greater that 2.5 million increased 19 percent.
Source: U.S. Department of Health & Human Services Kelly Cannon/KANSAN
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