Predictions Vary On Whether Women Will Embrace Female Condoms

Main Category: Sexual Health / STDs
Also Included In: Women's Health / Gynecology;  HIV / AIDS
Article Date: 05 Aug 2010 - 4:00 PDT

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Women's health advocates hope a new product design and campaigns in several cities across the U.S. will encourage more women to consider female condoms to protect themselves against HIV/AIDS and other sexually transmitted infections, CNN reports. Since FDA approved a new version of the female condom in 2009, Chicago, New York City and other cities have launched programs to promote the method and train women in how to use them. San Francisco is considering a promotional campaign (Park, CNN, 8/2). In addition, last week, the Washington, D.C., health department launched a campaign to promote female condom use after a 2009 study found that about 3% of the city residents older than age 12 are HIV-positive (Women's Health Policy Report, 7/28).

According to CNN, while some women's health advocates consider female condoms another option for women to protect themselves from STIs and prevent pregnancy, other experts question their practicality. For example, Alexandra Katehakis, a certified sex therapist and clinical director of the Los Angeles-based Center for Healthy Sex, said that compared with male condoms, female condoms are cumbersome to use and take too long to put on.

However, Zoe Lehman, a support services coordinator at the Chicago Women's AIDS Project, noted that tampons also were unpopular at first, but they ultimately caught on. "It's the same ... with female condoms -- it's not complicated at all," Lehman said, adding, "People have the idea it's more complicated to use it because no one has shown them how."

Advocates also say that the female condom gives women more control over condom use. Mary Ann Leeper, senior strategic adviser at female condom manufacturer Female Health, said that "[t]here's nothing wrong with the male condom," but "[a] lot of people -- male and female -- don't like it and have unprotected sex." She added, "What we say is it gives people options and empowers women to initiate a method if he doesn't use a male condom" (CNN, 8/2).

Reprinted with kind permission from http://www.nationalpartnership.org. You can view the entire Daily Women's Health Policy Report, search the archives, or sign up for email delivery here. The Daily Women's Health Policy Report is a free service of the National Partnership for Women & Families.

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