Love during lockdown: findings from an online survey examining the impact of COVID-19 on the sexual practices of people living in Australia

Abstract

Introduction: Australia recorded its first case of COVID-19 in late January 2020. On 22 March 2020, amid increasing daily case numbers, the Australian Government implemented lockdown restrictions to help flatten the curve. Our study aimed to understand the impact of lockdown restrictions on sexual and reproductive health. Here we focus on sexual practices. Methods: An online survey was open from the 23 April 2020 to the 11 May 2020. Participants were recruited online via social media and other networks and were asked to report on their sexual practices in 2019 and during lockdown. Logistic regression was used to calculate the difference (including 95% confidence intervals) in the proportion of sex practices between time periods. Results: Of the 1187 who commenced the survey, 965 (81.3%) completed it. Overall 70% were female and 66.3% were aged 18 to 29 years. Most (53.5%) reported less sex during lockdown than in 2019. Compared with 2019, participants were more likely to report sex with a spouse (35.3% vs 41.7%; difference=6.4%; 95%CI: 3.6, 9.2) and less likely to report sex with a girl/boyfriend (45.1% vs 41.8%; diff=-3.3%; 95%CI: -7.0, -0.4) or with casual hook-up (31.4% vs 7.8%; 95%CI:-26.9, -19.8). Solo sex activities increased, 14.6% (123/840) reported using sex toys more often and 26.0% (218/838) reported masturbating more often. Dating app use decreased during lockdown compared with 2019 (42.1% vs 27.3%; difference= -14.8%; 95%CI: -17.6, -11.9). Using dating apps for chatting/texting (89.8% vs 94.5%; diff=4.7%; 95%CI:1.0, 8.5) and for setting up virtual dates (2.6% vs 17.2%; diff=14.6%; 95%CI:10.1, 19.2) increased during lockdown. Conclusion: Although significant declines in sexual activity during lockdown were reported, people did not completely stop engaging in sexual activities during the pandemic, highlighting the importance of ensuring availability of normal sexual and reproductive health services during global emergencies.

Brief Report: Changes in PrEP Use, Sexual Practice, and Use of Face Mask During Sex Among MSM During the Second Wave of COVID-19 in Melbourne, Australia

“…This is consistent with previous studies showing a reduction in casual sex during the national lockdown in March–April. 3 , 4 , 9 It is also important to note that about one-third of MSM reported no casual partners in May–August. HIV postexposure prophylaxis (PEP) prescriptions have been used as a proxy for high-risk practices and studies have shown that there was a significant reduction in PEP prescriptions after the lockdown around March in Australia, the United Kingdom and Spain, where countries have been badly affected by COVID-19.…”

“…Consistent with these findings, other studies have reported an increase in activities with no risk for HIV and STI, such as masturbation and cybersex during the COVID-19 pandemic. 3 , 18 The reduction in sexual risk can potentially lead to temporal reductions in HIV and other sexually transmitted infections (STI). 5 , 19 , 20 However, the severity of COVID-19 pandemic in some settings may cause interruptions in delaying and accessing HIV/STI testing.…”

“…Under the previous restrictions during the national lockdown in March and April 2020, individuals had reduced their sexual activities, particularly sex with casual partners. 3 – 5 There have been a few Australian and international studies examining pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) use during the COVID-19 pandemic. 6 – 8 Our previous Melbourne-based study reported that one in 4 men who have sex with men (MSM) taking daily HIV PrEP in January–February 2020 (ie, before first lockdown) had stopped taking PrEP in early May.…”

Projected HIV and Bacterial STI Incidence Following COVID-Related Sexual Distancing and Clinical Service Interruption

“…1 For HIV and other sexually transmitted infections (STIs), behavioral responses to COVID-19 have included major reductions in social contacts ("social distancing") that also entailed reductions in sexual activity ("sexual distancing"). [2][3][4] The pandemic also has interrupted the provision of clinical services for HIV/STIs. 5 One critical question is how these two phenomenadistancing that could decrease HIV/STI transmission, and service interruption that could increase transmissionwill impact the overall incidence of HIV and STIs immediately and in the post-COVID era.…”

Connected while apart: Associations between social distancing, computer-mediated communication frequency, and positive affect during the early phases of COVID-19

“…Similarly, findings from another study of 979 working adults in Germany suggest that while positive affect was lower between March 2020 and May 2020 compared to December 2019 to March 2020, reports of positive affect were associated with higher levels of emotional support (Zacher & Rudolph, 2021). While receiving emotional support was inhibited for some individuals due to adhering to social distancing guidelines, recent evidence suggests these individuals found alternative ways, such as CMC, to maintain their current and create new social connections (Anderson & Vogels, 2020;Coombe et al, 2020). Particularly, the use of CMC provided users with the ability to (re)connect with old and new friends and increase their social capital (Chen & Li, 2017).…”