The first author has often heard people involved in policy and programme development raise the query that ‘if MSM know about condoms and have access to them, then why they do not use condoms every time’. Such a thought indicates an assumption that knowledge and access to condoms alone are sufficient for a person to use condoms every time. Such thinking and approaches, however, do not sufficiently take account of the complexities of the real world, where factors at different levels interact in a nuanced manner to prevent something that is so desired by HIV-prevention policymakers and health educators alike – consistent condom use.