D.C. Promoting Female Condoms

My best friend and I have never had a problem talking about sex and anything that goes along with that topic. We are probably more open with each other than other friends I know who admit they rarely broach the subject of sex with their BFFs. Now, gabbing on the phone with my best friend about sex and protection is one thing, but if you asked me to have that conversation with complete strangers, I think I might run the other way. But there are some safe sex advocates like Charlene Cotton who spends her weeks opening the conversation with women on the street by saying, “Come check out my table. Don’t be scared.” The table she speaks of is covered with bowls of flavored condoms.

Once the brave and unsuspecting female pedestrian walks over to Cotton’s table, Cotton asks, “Have you heard of the female condom?” Using anatomically correct models and condoms, she proceeds to show the woman how the female condom works. Cotton is just one of many safe sex advocates in the D.C. area that is strongly advocating the female condom in order to stop HIV from spreading. D.C. is home to one of the highest HIV rates in the entire nation. As it is, there are several community-based groups that are having “lessons” in public venues like restaurants and churches in order to distribute half a million female condoms and show women how to use them.

D.C.-based CVS stores actually have these female condoms on their shelves. This is the only place in the nation where women can buy these condoms without having to visit a health clinic. The local government is also pulling out all the stops by initiating a marketing campaign for female condoms with a new website and posters to be placed on close to 500 buses. These advertisements show a man and woman hugging and a female condom in the foreground with the words, “Get turned on to it. The female condom with pleasure points for her and him – to tease, please and protect. Go on, give it a try.”

Mary Ann Leeper of Female Health Co. is leading the initiative to popularize the female condom. She states, “Everybody is doing a full-court press.” What remains to be seen is if having a larger distribution of these types of condoms will mean that more women choose to use these types of condoms. This is vital considering a study done one year ago showed that approximately 3% of the population in D.C. is infected with HIV/AIDS. One issue is that the female condom is not as cheap as a regular male condom. In addition, the majority of women have no experience using a female condoms and may feel uncomfortable about using one for the first time. Manufacturers of female condoms have a compelling argument as to why more people should use them. They are as effective as male condoms in terms of preventing unwanted pregnancies and protecting against sexually transmitted diseases. In fact, the female condom covers a larger area of the genitals so it actually provides better protection. More importantly, it puts control in a woman’s hands. Dr. Nnemdi Kamanu Elias from the Department of Health states, “We’re hoping that this will just be part of their arsenal. It’s something they themselves can initiate and they themselves have control over.”