In a new study, researchers in the UK and India have been investigating how digital platforms can be used to complement traditional community mobilisation and sexual health prevention approaches in West Bengal. In this article, Rohit K Dasgupta and Pawan Dhall discuss the key findings, and the extent to which digital media could be effective in reaching out to gay men, MSM and trans* women with information and services

Dasgupta, Rohit K

Dhall, Pawan

Dasgupta, Rohit K.

LSE Research Online

Youtube	video	on	safe	sex	embedded	andhyperlinked	through	popular	gay	socialmedia	app,	GrindrThe	potential	(and	limitations)	of	digital	media	forsexual	health	interventions	in	IndiaIn	a	new	study,	researchers	in	the	UK	and	India	have	been	investigating	how	digitalplatforms	can	be	used	to	complement	traditional	community	mobilisation	and	sexualhealth	prevention	approaches	in	West	Bengal.	In	this	article,	Rohit	K	Dasgupta	andPawan	Dhall	discuss	the	key	findings,	and	the	extent	to	which	digital	media	could	beeffective	in	reaching	out	to	gay	men,	MSM	and	trans*	women	with	information	andservices.Increasing	HIV	infections	among	gay	men	and	other	men	who	have	sex	with	men	(MSM)	and	trans*	womencommunities	in	eastern	India,	along	with	the	diminishing	funding	and	low	impact	of	traditional	sexually	transmittedinfection	(STI)	prevention	and	capacity	building	programs,	are	a	serious	problem	in	India.	In	2016	we	thereforeconducted	a	six-month	qualitative	study	titled	Mobile-ising	for	Sexual	Health:	Digital	Technologies	and	SexualHealth	Advocacy	in	India	funded	by	a	small	grant	from	the	Wellcome	Trust.The	study	set	out	to	illustrate	how	digital	media	platforms	are	ableto	widen	access	and	advocacy	and	complement	traditionalcommunity	mobilisation	and	sexual	health	prevention	approaches.More	specifically	it	explored	the	potential	of	deploying	digital	mediafor	sexual	health	interventions	among	gay,	MSM	and	trans*	womenin	West	Bengal	–	both	as	an	extension	of	and	a	shift	away	fromtraditional	(‘field-based’	and	‘health	facility-based’)	sexual	healthinterventions.The	collaborative	project	brought	together	Rohit	K	Dasgupta	ofLoughborough	University	with	Paul	Boyce	of	University	of	Sussexand	Pawan	Dhall	from	the	Varta	Trust	in	India.	It	built	uponprevious	research,	advocacy	and	training	done	in	the	context	ofsexual	health	interventions	among	men	who	have	sex	with	men(MSM)	and	trans*	people	in	West	Bengal	and	other	parts	of	easternIndia.The	study	included	a	literature	review,	focus	group	discussions(FGDs)	and	semi-structured	interviews	with	sexual	health	outreachworkers	and	counsellors,	queer	community	activists,	and	mediapersons	based	in	and	around	Kolkata.	As	prior	research	on	digitalculture	and	the	prevalence	of	social	media	amongst	the	queercommunity	have	shown,	dating	sites	and	mobile	applications	havebecome	key	drivers	in	shaping	sexual	expectation,	norms	andpractices	amongst	queer	men	in	India.	Preliminary	findings	of	thestudy	were	presented	at	a	symposium	organised	at	JadavpurUniversity,	Kolkata	in	August	2016.A	detailed	analysis	of	the	study	findings	has	been	reported	inSocial	Media,	Sexuality,	and	Sexual	Health	Advocacy	in	Kolkata,India:	A	Working	Report	published	by	Bloomsbury	India.	Thefindings	reflect	the	possibility	of	several	more	streams	for	furtherresearch	and	analysis.	This	article	takes	a	quick	look	at	what	thestudy	found	about	the	potential	(and	limitations)	of	digital	media	inreaching	out	to	gay	men,	MSM	and	trans*	women	in	West	Bengalwith	sexual	health	information	and	services.	It	also	looks	at	how	digital	media	may	help	reach	out	to	sections	ofMSM	and	trans*	women	usually	beyond	the	reach	of	traditional	sexual	health	interventions.South Asia @ LSE: The potential (and limitations) of digital media for sexual health interventions in India Page 1 of 3		Date originally posted: 2017-07-31Permalink: http://blogs.lse.ac.uk/southasia/2017/07/31/the-potential-and-limitations-of-digital-media-for-sexual-health-interventions-in-india/Blog homepage: http://blogs.lse.ac.uk/southasia/To	quote	an	FGD	respondent	associated	with	an	NGO	that	builds	the	capacity	of	community	groups	to	respond	toHIV	and	social	justice	concerns:“See,	traditionally	we	have	seen	that	the	public	health	[HIV]	interventions,	whether	funded	by	thegovernment	or	other	donor	agencies,	were	focused	on	[MSM	and	trans*	women]	population	segmentswhich	were	primarily	[from]	lower	or	middle	income	[classes].	And	these	populationswere	most	visibleor	accessible	in	the	traditional	places	of	gathering,	let’s	say,	cruising	spaces	or	soliciting	sites	or	sexsites.	But	gradually	in	the	last	decade,	with	the	advent	of	the	internet,	faster	internet	connections,more	smart	phones	in	more	people’s	hands,	and	with	the	various	apps,	the	communication	hasgradually	changed.	Soas	the	internet	penetration	went	up	in	India,	we	had	a	number	of	e-forums	thatpeople	were	joining	up	and	discussing,	which	lead	on	to	dating	sites,	which	now	have	percolateddown	to	apps	on	smart	phones.	Then	there	are	also	the	mobile	networks	and	private	parties,	privateget-togethers	through	contacts	over	mobile	phones.	In	addition	to	all	this,	there	is	this	another	area	ofhouse	parties	where	people	gather,	and	massage	parlours–	which	is	also	a	different	kind	of	space	notreally	accessible	to	health	care	workers	for	health	related	promotion	.	.	.These	are	all	the	places	thatthe	current	interventions	are	not	addressing.”Another	FGD	respondent,	a	youth	community	leader	said:“.	.	.	It’s	not	just	about	the	section	of	people	who	say	that	they	are	LGBTIQ.	But	there	is	this	whole	lotof	people,	who	just	do	not	identify	themselves	with	the	community,	but	they	have	sex	with	men,	theygo	to	the	people,	thetrans*,	the	pockets	where	hijra	women	are	having	sex.	So	these	are	the	placesthat	are	not	really	tapped.	Some	years	back	.	.	.	I	had	been	intimate	with	a	lot	of	people.	So	there	I	hadknown	people	from	various	sections	of	society,	various	layers,	they	were	from	different	set-ups.	Somewere	married,	some	had	girlfriends,	some	just	identified	themselves	as	gay	but	didn’t	know	what	wasexactly	the	whole	thing	about	being	gay,	and	some	people	would	just	think	that	this	was	just	aboutsex,	there	were	bisexual	people	who	thought	that	having	sex	with	men	and	being	romantic	withwomen	was	being	bisexual	.	.	.	I	think	NGOs	have	a	role	of	not	just	talking	about	sexual	health	tospecific	communities	–	it	needs	to	be	more	diverse.	Like	there	should	be	separate	work	going	onmaking	people	understand	that	being	LGBTIQ	is	not	wrong,	but	apart	from	that	there	should	be	adifferent	campaign	going	on	which	would	just	talk	about	sexual	health	and	involve	everything	in	it,	Imean	men	having	sex	with	men,	men	having	sex	with	women,	anal	sex,	vaginal	sex,	all	kinds	of	sex	.	..	so	they	should	talk	about	every	kind	of	sex,	not	just	one	kind	of	sex.”These	quotes	highlight	where	digital	media	interventions	would	have	to	be	focused	and	who	they	should	behoping	to	reach	out	to-	not	just	the	people	moving	away	from	traditional	meeting	grounds	to	digital	ones,	but	alsothe	spaces	hitherto	unreached	by	traditional	sexual	health	interventions.	At	the	same	time	the	study	alsohighlighted	how	digital	media	interventions	would	have	to	function.	The	increased	and	wider	availability	of	diverseand	affordable	digital	platforms	would	on	its	own	not	translate	into	solving	the	problems	of	limited	and	inequitablereach.	Digital	media	interventions	would	have	to	make	considerable	investments	in	a	holistic	approach	to	talkingabout	sexual	health	that	goes	far	beyond	the	medical	issues	of	testing	and	treating	STIs/HIV,	and	that	resonateswith	a	wide	cross-section	of	gay,	MSM,	trans*	women	and	other	gender	and	sexual	minorities.Such	interventions	would	also	have	to	factor	in	differing	levels	of	digital	media	penetration	in	urban	and	ruralareas	(affordance	issue),	variations	in	people’s	literacy	and	expertise	in	handling	digital	media	(especially	viasmart	phones),	the	need	for	using	a	variety	of	languages	other	than	English	to	make	the	communication	effective,and	the	fact	that	people	may	not	trust	some	of	the	information	available	on	digital	platforms	readily,	particularlywith	regards	tomedical	treatment.	Underlying	these	factors	would	be	the	fact	that	Indian	law	continues	tocriminalise	people	with	non-normative	genders	and	sexualities	on	grounds	of	their	(presumed)	sexual	behaviours,and	digital	media	interventions	that	are	explicit	in	terms	of	the	‘sex	talk’	could	possibly	be	seen	as	abetting	acrime.	This	could	deter	government	buy-in	for	digital	media	interventions.	The	opportunities	offered	by	digitalmedia	technologies	would	therefore	be	realised	best	only	with	changes	in	attitudes,	practices	and	policies	thatinform	and	shape	digital	media	interventions.Cover	image:	UNAIDS.AsiaPacific	Living	positively	with	HIV	video	on	YouTubeSouth Asia @ LSE: The potential (and limitations) of digital media for sexual health interventions in India Page 2 of 3		Date originally posted: 2017-07-31Permalink: http://blogs.lse.ac.uk/southasia/2017/07/31/the-potential-and-limitations-of-digital-media-for-sexual-health-interventions-in-india/Blog homepage: http://blogs.lse.ac.uk/southasia/This	article	gives	the	views	of	the	author,	and	not	the	position	of	the	South	Asia	@	LSE	blog,	nor	of	the	LondonSchool	of	Economics.	Please	read	our	comments	policy	before	posting.About	the	AuthorsDr	Rohit	K	Dasgupta	is	lecturer	at	the	Institute	of	Media	and	Creative	Industries	at	LoughboroughUniversity.	He	is	the	author	of	Digital	Queer	Cultures	in	India:	Politics,	Intimacies	and	Belonging(Routledge,	2017)	and	co-editor	of	the	forthcoming	Queering	Digital	India:	Activisms,	Identities,Subjectivities	(Edinburgh	University	Press)Mr	Pawan	Dhall	is	a	Founding	Trustee	of	Varta	Trust,	a	gender	and	sexualitypublishing	and	advocacy	non-profit	organization.	He	is	the	editor	of	Queer	Potli:Memories,	Imaginations	and	Re-imaginations	of	Urban	Queer	Spaces	in	India	(QueerInk,	2016)South Asia @ LSE: The potential (and limitations) of digital media for sexual health interventions in India Page 3 of 3		Date originally posted: 2017-07-31Permalink: http://blogs.lse.ac.uk/southasia/2017/07/31/the-potential-and-limitations-of-digital-media-for-sexual-health-interventions-in-india/Blog homepage: http://blogs.lse.ac.uk/southasia/

The potential (and limitations) of digital media for sexual health interventions in India

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