Centre for Research on Inclusive Society

The COVID Sex Lives Project

Led by Professor Ben Light, this large scale project investigated the experiences of the minority group, men who have sex with men (MSM), during the UK COVID-19 pandemic from March 2020 until January 2022. In particular the project team were interested in how government-sanctioned sexual health advice directed at MSM during the UK COVID-19 pandemic impacted (if at all) on their sexual practices, health and wellbeing.

The study comprised data from:

  • 4 online surveys generating 1409 valid responses,
  • the messaging within, and functions of, dating and hookup apps used by MSM,
  • Twitter based-communication of relevant charities that serve MSM,
  • the COVID messaging of charities that serve MSM delivered via their websites,
  • general media coverage regarding MSM during the pandemic.

In brief, we found that health charities and dating/hookup apps that serve MSM were quick
to respond to translating government messaging about the pandemic and continued to do so by taking a multiplatform approach and working in collaboration as necessary. For charities this was an achievement, as they, like many other organisations, had to move to online working and
they often saw an exponential increase in the uptake of their services. Themes in our findings relate to: Hooking Up During a Pandemic ; Personal Ethics and Risk Management; Responses to Health Messaging; Accessing Sexual Health Services; and considerations regarding the disclosure of vaccination status.

Our recommendations relate to;

  • The need to prioritise mental health through times of crisis;
  • Offering explicit decision-making frameworks and toolkits to help navigate public health messaging, ethics and risk;
  • Extending engagement with digital technologies, such as dating/hookup apps, to make them work better for. the group that communications are expected to reach;
  • Considering a wider range of ways to reach MSM vis health messaging;
  • Offering hybrid health services based on digital platforms in post-crisis/pandemic conditions.

The full report can be obtained on an open access basis from the University or Salford Institutional Repository, a short public facing summary of results, and some further analysis regarding the influence of age, and race and ethnicity. Preliminary data analysis release as soon as possible is also available.

Various members of the team have also spoken about the project on the Being LGBTQ podcast and these can be accessed via Spotify as detailed below.

Rachel Katz talking about some of the projects early findings on the Being LGBTQ Podcast.
Lisa Garwood-Cross and Ben Light talking about some of the project’s mid point findings on the Being LGBTQ Podcast.

The project benefited from funding from the Arts and Humanities Research Council via the UKRI’s Agile Research and Innovation Response to COVID-19 call.

The project team included Dr Lisa Garwood-Cross and Dr Rachel Katz, Dr Karenza Moore (now at Newcastle University), and Kia Hinds at the University of Salford.Project partners included Birmingham City University and Kings College London.