'We were quite surprised to be short-listed because of the controversial nature of the project'

Reducing health inequalities: sponsored by the Health Development Agency Sexual health projects can find it hard to gain recognition in the NHS. But winning an HSJ Award drew attention to the Working Men Project - a small, dedicated team managing a website supporting male sex workers.

The Working Men Project won the reducing health inequalities category of the HSJ Awards in 2002. It is a user-led website which provides a virtual support community to this often socially isolated group. By giving safer-sex messages and confidential support to service users, it intends to reduce the potential incidence of HIV and other sexually transmitted diseases.

The project was set up by St Mary's Hospital trust in London. The website is managed by lead nurse Justin Gaffney and supported by a volunteer systems administrator and a paid webmaster, Andre Erasmus (one of the Working Men Project's outreach team).

Six months on from their award, Mr Gaffney says it has been a real boost for the project. 'Winning the award was great in terms of bringing attention to the website - it sparked a lot of interest in the project, ' he says. 'Up until we won the award, the trust didn't consider the site to be particularly special or innovative but the award meant we gained a lot of recognition.

'We were quite surprised to be short-listed because of the controversial nature of the project.We were pleased to win such a prestigious award, 'he adds.

Mr Gaffney points out that winning had a wider impact on the trust as a whole. 'It made people realise that we can win awards. It made people question why we do not enter more - we deserve the recognition.'

Since receiving their award, the team has expanded the site and developed a CD-ROM to distribute to men without internet access.The team is currently developing new pages and has plans to help service users with financial matters by encouraging them to think about their future through sensible investment.Visits to the site have increased to around 300 a week in the past six months.

www. wmplondon. org. uk

Contact Justin Gaffney: justin@wmplondon. org. uk