Family planning: No condoms?

Family planning: No condoms?

Tantri Yuliandini, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

"Hey, this guy's buying ribbed, colored, lubricated, plaid,
spearmint, condoms!!" the rude drugstore guy yelled at the top of
his voice to the chagrin of 37-year-old virgin Larry Laffer in
Sierra's 1987 computer game Leisure Suit Larry 1: In the Land of
the Lounge Lizards. The ultimate horror experience for the
condom-consumer.

This was exactly why commercial condoms could now be found on
supermarket counters and next to the bubble gums in modern
drugstores -- easily available to the public.

It's accessibility and -- thanks to condom social marketing
programs promoting low-cost brands -- affordability should make
it one of the most popular agent for fertility control and
disease prevention, only it isn't.

Statistics from the National Family Planning Board (BKKBN)
showed an alarming drop in recent years in the use of condoms
among participants of the family planning program in the country.

BKKBN deputy for family planning and reproductive health,
Siswanto Agus Wilopo, said that currently only 0.83 percent of
family planning participants use condoms, compared to about 6.3
percent in the mid 1980s. In 2002, the number of family planning
participants were reported at 25.8 million.

Considering that the number of people with HIV/AIDS in
Indonesia currently stands at between 80,000 to 120,000 and
growing, according to conservative estimates by the Ministry of
Health, this aversion to condom use poses a serious problem.

"Especially since those infected with HIV are not restricted
only to those with high-risk sexual activity but also housewives
and children," Siswanto said in a discussion here recently.

He said that one of the reasons behind this was the
government's lack of concern for popularizing condom in its
national family planning program, focusing instead on female
contraceptive methods.

The other reason was the present focus on the condom's role in
preventing sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) like HIV/AIDS.
Television advertisements such as Harry Roesli's Kenakan Kondom,
atau Kena (Use Condoms or Catch It) and their heavy implication
on disease prophylaxis have caused married couples to be averse
to using condoms for contraception.

"We're seeing a social stigma here, married couples don't want
to use condoms because of the 'dirty' or 'sex-for-pleasure'
connotation, and what it might suggest regarding confidence in
their partner's fidelity," Siswanto said.

He said that although condom sales have reportedly gone up to
68 million last year from 28 million in 1996, they were rarely
used for family planning purposes.

Moreover, although commercial sex workers often report high
levels of condom usage with their paying customers, it is not the
case with their regular non-commercial sexual partners or
boyfriends.

Pandu Riono from Family Health International's (FHI) Action to
Stop AIDS program also acknowledged the ongoing risks for married
women who may be exposed to HIV through their husbands'
extramarital sexual encounters.

This was the reason behind BKKBN's recent campaign of "protect
yourself and protect others", Siswanto said.

"We are campaigning using easy-to-digest slogans, we want men
to love their wives by using the condom," he said.

BKKBN is actively promoting the use of condoms for families,
trying to open their eyes to the very real dangers of HIV/AIDS,
Siswanto said, and in addition also conduct awareness programs
for teenagers.

"Teenagers are the families of the future, it is a known fact
that some 38 percent of people with HIV/AIDS are below the age of
29 years old, meaning they contracted it in their 20s," he said,
explaining that the BKKBN's campaigns for high-risk individuals
will continue.

So why are people reluctant to use condoms?

Ramona Sari, head of family planning and reproductive health
division of The Indonesian Planned Parenthood Association (PKBI),
said most people cite discomfort as their main aversion to
condoms.

"Many say condoms inhibit sexual gratification and interfere
with intercourse," she said in the discussion.

Which was why so many condoms now come in different shapes,
colors and sizes to enhance the sexual experience, Ramona said.

Many also question the condom's effectiveness as a
prophylactic, but Siswanto said that even if the condom leaks
during intercourse the risk of infection was still so much
smaller than when not using one.

"The fact is, there is no 100 percent prevention, but with the
right use of condoms you are greatly minimizing the risk," he
said.