Female Condoms - Empowering Pacific Women

Female condoms - empowering Pacific women to protect themselves

Amid the tally of medals won by our Pacific athletes at the Games in Samoa, distribution of other small objects of value to athletes also proved a great success. These are the female condoms, made available to all by the organisers of the Safe Games Campaign through peer educators.

'While male condoms offer effective protection, a female condom allows women more say in the negotiation process as it is the woman and not the man who wears the condom,' says Dr Dennie Iniakwala, head of SPC's HIV & STI Section. 'Women are especially vulnerable tosexually transmitted infections(STIs) such asHIV because of gender inequality and high rates of gender-based violence. In this environment, relying on male condoms to protect women is not enough.'

Access to female condoms is crucial as they are highly effectivein preventing unwanted pregnancy andSTIsand are one of the few protection methods entirely made for and controlled by women.

According to Stuart Watson, UNAIDS Coordinator for the Pacific sub-region, 'the female athletes' right to make choices about their own health and safety, through the availability of female condoms, is directly in line with the Millennium Development Goals: Promote Gender Equality and Empower Women (Goal 3) and Combat HIV/AIDS, Malaria and other diseases (Goal 6), as well as with the United Nations' Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW).'

While women, whether married or not, may be at risk ofinfection through their own sexual practices, they are mainly exposed toSTIs including HIV as a result of the other sexual relationships of a male partner, and from the violence - including rape and forced sex - that can occur inside or outside marriage.

'If we, as a region, are serious about preventing HIV and other STIs, we need to acknowledge the unbalanced power dynamics between men and women and their different socio-cultural positions within each society,' says Dr Iniakwala. 'We need to recognise that women are not always in a situation where they can negotiate safe sex through the use of male condoms because they may be afraid of violence or negative social consequences. Female condoms increase the otherwise limited options available to women to initiate use of protection, particularly where men are reluctant to wear a condom or have not thought to carry them.'

'Short of changing women's status in the Pacific today, we need to make the most of protective devices such as female condoms, which empower women and at last give them the ability to make their own decisions on their sexual and reproductive health and welfare.'

According to Dr Iniakwala, 'By energetically endorsing the availability and use of female condoms, we could be reducing HIV and other STIs as we speak - we need to be making them as accessible as possible!'

Facts on female condoms:

* Female-controlled Comfortable for men and women

*Offer greater protection (cover both internal and external genitalia)

* Very convenient (can be inserted up to 8 hours pre-sex)

* Strong (polyurethane is 40% stronger than latex)

* Designed to fit all women and suitable for women of all ages

* CAN BE USED ONLY ONCE. If used more than once, they offer less protection against STIs or unwanted pregnancy.

ENDS

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