Are HIV-Only Sex Parties Safe or Dangerous?

In the mid – 1990’s, so called "POZ parties", started to occur in New York. These parties were organized for gay men infected with HIV virus. The purpose of the party was engaging in unprotected sex with not having to worry about transmitting HIV to sex partners.
POZ parties became so popular that they started to spread to other major cities in Canada, Australia and Western Europe hosting up to 5,000 people.

Health officials are just beginning to study the issue in order to conclude whether these parties represent a possible risk for spreading other diseases or a good way to keep sex a little safer.

The researchers are worried that such behavior may lead to increase of sexually transmitted diseases and spread more dangerous strains of HIV but also believe that this may be a good way to contain the spread of AIDS.

Most men attending the parties report the main reason they are there is that they don’t have to worry about telling others of their HIV status and the possibility of infecting others who don’t have the virus.

The parties get another point for being a place where people can openly talk about their disease. This is especially important for young men who are still dealing with identity issues when they find out they have HIV.