Your condom or mine?

This article may be used in training:

Trainer’s notes:
The article is important in drawing attention to the existence and advantages of the female condom. However, it could have been strengthened by consulting the views of the users of such condoms, rather than just the promoters. Also, this article misses the opportunity to highlight gender and power dynamics in the negotiation process to the use of both male and female condoms. It would be interesting to investigate how such dynamics differ in the use of the female condom. The article could also give some critical facts/data related to condom use and HIV/AIDS prevention in Botswana.            

 

Training exercises:     

Interview and investigate perceptions of the different types of condoms by the condom users. Pay special attention to women’s views as they are referred as having difficulties negotiating the use of male condoms. Another exercise could be for participants to go out and count the number of billboards with female condoms and those with male condoms.

 

If time is limited, do a role play of a woman going to buy a) a female condom and b) a male condom in a pharmacy. Now reverse the roles. What are the different responses? What are the gender dynamics at play?

 

Links to other training resources:
Gender Links and the AIDS Law Project: Gender and HIV/AIDS, A Training Manual for Southern African Communicators; p 127, Handout forty: Gender, prevention, treatment and care.