女用安全套：中国女性新的选择

NGOs are calling for the use of female condoms in China, especially among unmarried women, to prevent unwanted pregnancy and disease.

"Female condoms give women control and choice over their own sexual health. They can protect themselves when their partners do not want to use a male condom," said Zhang Yun, the program officer from PATH, at the Women Deliver conference in Malaysia on Wednesday.

PATH is one of the NGOs that promote female condoms in China. Female condoms provide enhanced sensation for men compared with male condoms. They may also provide more protection for skin-to-skin transmitted diseases such as herpes and the human papilloma virus.

Since 1993, about 300 million women's condoms have been distributed in 120 countries, and public-sector programs are under way in more than 90 countries, according to the World Health Organization.

The availability of female condoms, particularly in developing countries, has increased from 14 million in 2005 to 50 million in 2010. However, based on data in the Reproductive Health Interchange, a reproductive health procurement and information service managed by the United Nations Population Fund, they only account for approximately 0.2 percent of global condom sales.

In the past six months, the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention has purchased more than 10,000 female condoms, providing them to sex workers in the country. The China Contraceptive Supplies Center at the National Health and Family Planning Commission bought another 40,000, which are mainly handed out to married women.

"Female condoms are the only female-initiated method of HIV/AIDS prevention that is safe and effective," said Shen He, a reproductive health professor with the commission.

In many countries female condoms are not new, however they cannot be easily found in pharmacies or supermarkets in China.

Zhang said some people are worried about possible inconvenience or discomfort, or just can't accept that women can also use condoms. "That's why we turned to young women first because they might accept new things more easily," she said.

China's health department has promoted female condoms since the early 2000s. A research paper on the use of the condoms among sex workers released by the National Research Institute for Family Planning in 2002 indicated that their use could be greatly improved through active intervention.

The rate of sex workers who reported liking female condoms increased from 60 percent pre-intervention to 93.5 percent post-intervention. And the rate of sex workers who considered that their clients could accept female condoms increased from 27 percent to 92 percent.

After the intervention, 94 percent said their sexual satisfaction had increased with their familiarity with the condoms, and 97 percent said they would use them in the future.

Different from the first generation of female condoms, the new ones that will be sold in China are easier to insert and they do not slip or move during use.

With a 0.03 mm polyurethane film, they bring more comfort to users. The condom should be inserted hours before intercourse and does not require immediate withdrawal afterward.

Chisomo Ngulube from Malawi stood in front of the booth for the new condom in the Kuala Lumpur Convention Center for more than 10 minutes, asking questions about the new product.

"Many women in Africa use female condoms as a temporary way of contraception. It is not new to us, but it is my first time to see such a thin and convenient one, which impressed me a lot," she said.

非政府组织呼吁更多中国女性能尝试女用避孕套，以此成为女性自主选择临时避孕手段的一个健康有效的方式。除了安全、无副作用以外，女用避孕套也是很好的预防接触性传染病(例如艾滋病)的有力防范手段。

在本周于马来西亚首都吉隆坡召开的Women Deliver大会上，一个穿着女用避孕套做成的裙子的模特吸引了不少参会者。摆放这个模特的，是美国帕斯适宜卫生科技项目。

该项目北京官员张云介绍说：“女用避孕套在很多国家知晓率很高，但在中国还是一个新兴事物。一些人还不习惯女人也能用避孕套，也有些担心会不会不方便使用或者让伴侣感到不舒服。所以我们目前想更多的在年轻的未婚女性中推广它，因为年轻人更容易接受新事物。”

据世界卫生组织数据统计，从1993年至今，全球约有3亿个女用安全套在120多个多家发放。在90个国家地区，政府推动的女用安全套项目正在进行。在发展中国家，女用安全套使用量已经从2005年的1400万提高到了2010年的5千万。然而，女用安全套在安全套市场占的比重仍然不多，据统计，大约不到全球安全套市场的0.2%.

中国政府对女用安全套的推广也由来已久，国家计生委曾经在2002年做过一个学术调查，在性工作者中推广试用女用安全套。结果证明，在专家的指导和推荐下，试用者们对女用安全套的接受度有了很大的提高。

据张云介绍，从去年底到今年初，中国疾控中心和国家药具管理中心都分别采购了共5万个女用安全套，在性工作者和已婚育龄妇女中推广。国家卫生和计划生育委员会的生殖健康专家沈和也表示，女用安全套是目前可以由女性自主选择的最有效的预防艾滋病的手段。

目前，全球有五种品牌的女用安全套，其中两种在中国。现在暂时无法在市场上买到，只能通过政府的健康卫生部门和一些非政府机构提供。预计上市之后，价格在12到18元之间。

目前帕斯适宜在中国推广的女用安全套使用了人体可以吸收的胶囊，并且材质达到了0.03毫米的厚度。使用起来比原有的女用安全套便捷，也让使用者感到更加舒适。只要在性行为之前把安全套放入体内即可，使用完毕也不需要马上拿出。