Fife Men Project - Text Only Version

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Welcome to Fife Men ...online!

Fife Men Project is a non profit-making organisation, aiming to promote the health and well being of men who have sex with men, based in Fife, Scotland.

Fife Men Project always need committed volunteers who are willing to devote a part of their time to distribute condom packs, undertake training in the project and with the Health Promotion Department, condom distribution scheme. Further details are available from the Administrator, Frank Watson.

We want to help gay men and other men who have sex with men to stay healthy and avoid infection with HIV and other sexually transmitted diseases. The project is funded by the Scottish Executive and we are responsible to Fife Health Board. Although we are based in Kirkcaldy we're glad to work with men throughout the Kingdom and surrounding rural areas. We think the following things are important - we hope you do too!

You should feel good about your sexuality and about having sex with other men:

Safer sex is about fun, feelings, trying new things, talking about the kind of things that turn you on.
It means avoiding sexually transmitted infections, including HIV and Hepatitis, but sex should be exciting and liberating, not frightening or restrictive. If you feel guilty, or attacked by other people, you might not like yourself, and that means you might not look after your health.

HIV and safer sex are connected with other things such as unemployment, the kind of housing you live in and how confident you feel about the way you live your life.

Together, we can try to prevent HIV infection - if you tell us what you think about our work, if you tell us what you think we should be doing and if you trust us.

We're here to work with you to stop HIV and related infections from spreading and to help ensure that we all live in a healthy community free from homophobia, violence and disease. .

How can we do it?:

Only a strong community can face up to the crisis caused by HIV and Hepatitis. That means supporting groups which already exist and helping to set up new groups.
That will encourage people to meet, to talk to each other and to tackle the problem. If men are isolated, they may not be able to cope.

The Fife Men Project goes out and talks to men in clubs, pubs, cruising areas and other public sex environments.

We encourage men to use condoms when they are having sex. We can give them free condoms and lubricants when we meet them and, when appropriate, talk to them about their fears.

Our project is very strictly controlled and has a written constitution in which the confidential nature of our work is outlined in detail.

We offer some individual advice, information and contacts for sympathetic legal support.

The project organises activities such as sexuality awareness workshops, self-defence training and arranges speakers to help discuss issues such as the advantages and disadvantages of taking an HIV test.

Some ideas we want to think about:

The project is concerned about the lack of knowledge that professional workers have about gay sexuality and aspects of health care specific to men who have sex with men.
The project is able to provide comprehensive information about these needs. We intend to establish a support group for men who have been abused by other men. Could you help with this project?

Some Local Authorities have failed to meet the needs of younger gay men, and homophobia is experienced in many of our schools. The project will continue to scrutinise Council policy and initiatives. Where necessary, we will make representation to those responsible for policy development.

Some people want an acceptable alternative to the "commercial gay scene", while others want a "gay scene" that really caters for their needs.

The Fife Men Project is to continue its links with all aspects of social and community life. The project will work to improve the situation of basic ignorance and homophobia within the Fife Constabulary. It will advocate a working protocol for the project that is supportive of non-discrimination and eradication of homophobia within the force. We will also provide legal advice to people who have been arrested for cruising or cottaging.

Statistics indicate that many people who do use public sex environments are married men, or older gay men. The project will attempt to support these men.

The project already supports men who work within the sex industry in Fife and will continue to develop this work. There are groups of men who are having a lot of unsafe sex and who would like to stop, but aren't sure how they can achieve this. We can offer training and advice in egotiating safer sex - still enjoying your sexuality and its physical expression!

This list could go on and on... help us achieve our aims and objectives.

Who is involved in the Fife Men Project?

The project has a number of volunteers throughout Fife and have appointed a part time administrator/development worker.

There are similar projects throughout the country and Fife Men links with these, attending conferences, seminars and workshops.

Please contact us about ideas for groups and activities or for (almost!) anything connected with having sex with other men, safer sex, HIV and other sexually transmitted diseases including Hepatitis A & B.

Volunteers are always welcome!

Please contact the project for details of training & skills required.

You can download our confidentiality policy below:

Downloads:

The following documents are available for download in both Microsoft Word and Adobe PDF.
Click on the relevant link title for each of these.
You will need either Microsoft Word/PowerPoint or Adobe Acrobat to view these files.
To download the free Adobe PDF reader click here

Confidentiality Policy in Microsoft Word format
Confidentiality Policy in Adobe PDF format