Safety First Last: The War on Condoms

Many high school health classes do not talk about condoms, let alone teach students how to use them effectively. Even the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention (CDC) has begun censoring information on condoms, replacing a 1999 fact sheet about the positive health benefits of condoms with a newer version that promotes abstinence over condoms and that gives less attention to condom effectiveness.

Condoms are 98 percent effective in preventing both pregnancy and HIV when they are used correctly (according to directions) and at every act of sex. That means that over the course of a year, condoms fail only 2% of the time if used consistently and correctly. But no one’s perfect – in reality condoms are about 88% effective in preventing HIV and 85 percent effective in preventing pregnancy when user error is taken into consideration.

No one disputes that abstinence is 100 percent effective at preventing both HIV and pregnancy, when is it practiced correctly (no vaginal, anal, or oral sex) and consistently (no exceptions). But again, no one’s perfect. In the real world, abstinence fails. 88% of youth who pledged to remain abstinent until marriage broke their pledge. Moreover, these youth were less likely than their non-pledging peers to use condoms or contraception. So where are the warning labels for abstinence-only-until-marriage programs?

Maybe it’s time we deal with reality and start giving teens all the information they need to make safe, healthy choices about their own sexual health.

Abstinence-Only Goes Global

Condom Labeling: Accuracy vs. Ideology

Check out stories from Ryan and Jessie about talking with a partner about safer sex:
Ryan's Story
Jessie's Story

Advocates for Youth and SEx, etc. launched an educational campaign – Respect Yourself. Protect Yourself. – designed to get people talking about condoms. Along with information about condom effectiveness and stories from young people, you can use the online “creative tool” to create your own campaign design entry – you could win $500 and have your design used in the next phase of the Campaign all over the United States!

Take me to the Respect Yourself, Protect Yourself campaign.

More links:
Condom Effectiveness
CDC's Condom Fact Sheets: A Comparison
Myths and Facts about Sex Education and Condoms