女用安全套：中國女性新的選擇

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.非政府組織呼籲更多中國女性能嘗試女用避孕套，以此成爲女性自主選擇臨時避孕手段的一個健康有效的方式。除了安全、無副作用以外，女用避孕套也是很好的預防接觸性傳染病(例如艾滋病)的有力防範手段。

在本週於馬來西亞首都吉隆坡召開的Women Deliver大會上，一個穿着女用避孕套做成的裙子的模特吸引了不少參會者。擺放這個模特的，是美國帕斯適宜衛生科技項目。

該項目北京官員張雲介紹說：“女用避孕套在很多國家知曉率很高，但在中國還是一個新興事物。一些人還不習慣女人也能用避孕套，也有些擔心會不會不方便使用或者讓伴侶感到不舒服。所以我們目前想更多的在年輕的未婚女性中推廣它，因爲年輕人更容易接受新事物。”

據世界衛生組織數據統計，從1993年至今，全球約有3億個女用安全套在120多個多家發放。在90個國家地區，政府推動的女用安全套項目正在進行。在發展中國家，女用安全套使用量已經從2005年的1400萬提高到了2010年的5千萬。然而，女用安全套在安全套市場佔的比重仍然不多，據統計，大約不到全球安全套市場的0.2%.

中國政府對女用安全套的推廣也由來已久，國家計生委曾經在2002年做過一個學術調查，在性工作者中推廣試用女用安全套。結果證明，在專家的指導和推薦下，試用者們對女用安全套的接受度有了很大的提高。

據張雲介紹，從去年底到今年初，中國疾控中心和國家藥具管理中心都分別採購了共5萬個女用安全套，在性工作者和已婚育齡婦女中推廣。國家衛生和計劃生育委員會的生殖健康專家沈和也表示，女用安全套是目前可以由女性自主選擇的最有效的預防艾滋病的手段。

目前，全球有五種品牌的女用安全套，其中兩種在中國。現在暫時無法在市場上買到，只能通過政府的健康衛生部門和一些非政府機構提供。預計上市之後，價格在12到18元之間。

目前帕斯適宜在中國推廣的女用安全套使用了人體可以吸收的膠囊，並且材質達到了0.03毫米的厚度。使用起來比原有的女用安全套便捷，也讓使用者感到更加舒適。只要在性行爲之前把安全套放入體內即可，使用完畢也不需要馬上拿出。