New 'consent condom' opens only with four hands because 'if it’s not a yes, it’s a no'
France is incentivising safe sex by reimbursing its citizens for using a certain brand of condoms.
France's Minister of Health Agnes Buzyn shared that French citizens will be reimbursed for using Eden brand condoms, given they have a prescription from a doctor/midwife.
The locally produced condoms are much cheaper than branded ones such as Durex, according to AFP who shared that the condoms are "the first to be approved for reimbursement by France’s national health authority." The decision to reimburse citizens for condoms was announced a few days before World Aids Day which falls on December 1.
France made the decision to do this in order to help prevent the spread of HIV, AIDS, and also sexually transmitted diseases. Between the years 2012 and 2016, cases of specific STIs like chlamydia and gonococcus had tripled in the country.
Buzyn spoke to France Inter radio station and shared, "Nowadays, we discover some 6,000 new (HIV-positive) cases every year, especially among young people — between 800 and 1,000 new cases among those under 25 — who often use condoms for their first sexual experience but not the following ones." According to AFP, the policy sends "a strong signal that it [a condom] is not a sex toy but a real and indispensable prevention tool," the maker of Eden condoms Majorelle shared.
Given the importance and need of having safe and consensual sex, an Argentinian sex toy company Tulipan has come up with a new 'consent condom' which requires four hands to open the condom.
The consent condom aims to ensure that both parties are equally involved in the choice and decision to have sex. All four corners of the condom packaging need to be pressed at the same time in order to open it.
The contraceptive boxes read, "If it’s not a yes, it’s a no." Tulipan will be launching the new product only later this year though they are handing the packages out at bars in Buenos Aires so that couples may test the product out. The company has also been boosting the product on social media and has their ads highlighting the fact that consent is sexy and also a major point when it comes to intercourse.
Joaquin Campins from agency BBDO which is helping promote the condoms shared, "Tulipán has always spoken of safe pleasure but for this campaign we understood that we had to talk about the most important thing in every sexual relationship — pleasure is possible only if you both give your consent."
The United Nations revealed that at least 35% of women globally have experienced some form of sexual assault and abuse.