Background With freedom of movement across European borders, increasing globalisation and emergence of new major economies, the UK has seen significant changes to the composition of nationalities migrating to the UK over the last ten years. In turn this has changed the working population of the UK. The objective of this study was to investigate the changes in nationalities of male sex workers (MSW) attending a dedicated clinic for MSW in London over the last decade.

Methods Clinic records for MSW attending a dedicated clinic in Central London were reviewed (1/1/2002 – 31/12/2002 and 1/1/2012 – 31/12/2012). Details of country of birth and nationality were collected for each attendee. Data was compared for each time period and grouped according to geography, and for Europe, according to traditional East - West borders.

Results Data was available for 211 men in 2002 and 230 in 2012. Country/region of birth (shown as % 2002, % 2012) was UK (37%, 43%), Western Europe (21%, 12%), Eastern Europe (6%, 6%), Latin and South America (15%, 31%), SE Asia (3%, 4%), Middle East and North Africa (3%, 0.4%), Sub-Saharan Africa (6%, 2%), USA and Canada (1%, 0.4%), Australia and New Zealand (4%, 0.4%), Other (3%, 1.3%).

Conclusions Nationalities of MSW attending the dedicated clinic in London have changed dramatically over the past decade. Though the majority remain UK born (37% in 2002, 43% in 2012), MSW attending from Western Europe (excluding UK) have fallen markedly (21% to 12%). The most notable increase in this period has been the number of MSW from Latin and South America (15% to 31%), the largest proportion being Brazilian (13% of total attendees in 2002, and 27% of 2012). Brazilians now account for over a quarter of MSW clinic attendees and MSW services need to adapt to support this cohort.