ae606 3/19/96
The Role of the Gayline in AIDS Education
Gaylines in Canada reach these hard-to-reach populations of men, but have
not been exploited as a consistent means of teaching about safer sex.
Gaylines constitute an untapped potential for effective safer sex education.
Responses are personalized to the needs of the individual
calling because volunteers are able to judge literacy, the caller's
options, the caller's environment, degree of risk, and barriers to use.
Gayline volunteers can speak from the authority of
personal experience.
The volunteer develops a one-on-one relationship with each
caller, especially when the call concerns sexual matters (because of the
intimacy of the subject matter and the safety of the call) and is able to
spend as long as necessary with a caller.
Gayline volunteers are trained in listening skills and are
comfortable with explicit sexual discussion.
From information about where to find gay sex, the
conversation can naturally evolve into a discussion of safer sex.
Although members of these hard-to-reach groups do not call the Gaylines
specifically for safer sex information, they have taken the initiative to
call for information about sex.  AIDS information can thus be offered at
this "teachable moment."  Gayline volunteers must be able to turn these
calls routinely into a forum for teaching about safer sex.