Gay bathhouses, also known as gay saunas, are commercial bathhouses for men to have sex with other men. Not all men who visit gay saunas consider themselves gay, regardless of their sexual behaviour. Records of men meeting for sex with other men in bathhouses date back to the 15thcentury. From the mids during the AIDS epidemic onward, there was fierce lobbying against gay saunas blaming them for the spread of sexually transmitted diseases STDs , especially HIV, and many were forced to close as a result.
Neither the claim that gay saunas are responsible for the spread of STDs, nor the claim that they are not, has been conclusively proved, but it is known that STDs are spread via unprotected sex. Sunny is a year-old bisexual Singaporean guy who has just tested positive for HIV. Having visited a gay sauna in a foreign country, he relates his horrific experience of being raped by two unknown men in a gay sauna in a foreign country.
Sunny had noticed that the rapist was wearing a condom so STDs did not cross his mind one bit. But several weeks later when back home in Singapore, he fell very ill and experienced diarrhoea , fever, vomiting and severe weight loss for about five weeks. He had to admit himself to a hospital, where he was finally advised to take a HIV test.
It was a positive result. I was shocked when it was confirmed. At that moment, all my plans shattered! Sunny was worried about his career prospects and gone were any hopes of reconciliation with his ex partner, or marriage plans, even. The usual dilemma many have is the worry about side effects from the pills, and regimented daily adherence. He has chosen not to inform his family because he fears they might be devastated at the news, and especially how he got infected in the first place in a gay sauna.
Sunny feels that getting tested should be routine for everyone, and feels that other Singaporeans who are afraid to go get tested for HIV and other STDs should do so. Counsellors and doctors attending to you will be compassionate and supportive of your situation and will try their best as health care providers to be a comfort to you.
