Condoms sold in safety box at Tesco, London. (C) peripheries

A coalition of labor unions started a campaign to free condom from bondage in a major drug store chain in the US. The “Cure CVS: Unlock the Condoms Initiative” is concerned “that young people are less likely to ask a store associate for access to the condoms, exposing them to a greater chance of contracting HIV/AIDS or becoming pregnant if they don’t use such contraceptives.”

According to The Tennessean, a spokesman for the chain explained that the practice aims at preventing shoplifting in situation where it has reached such a degree that “the product is becoming unavailable for our customers to purchase, we take additional product protection measures.”

Interestingly it seems that not all stores enforce a condom protection policy, but that “in nine of 19 markets where the company locks up condoms, CVS was at least three times more likely to do so in communities of color than in majority white ZIP codes.”

Condom’s theft do happen all over the world. Such thefts could lead to extreme situations where the thief end up being arrested at gun point or face a lengthy jail sentence. Likewise, condom’s protection is not limited to the US (see picture).

What is most deplorable is that condoms being the best prevention method against HIV infection, people are resolved to steal them rather than buy them. It say a lot about how much more work is needed to de-stigmatize sex and if we can’t “decriminalise” sex (from a moral perspective) we won’t be able to do much when it comes to stigma surrounding HIV. It is even more discouraging when epidemiological evidences show that African American are more vulnerable to HIV infection.

Understandably, CVS is here to do business, not to run an HIV prevention programme, though with a bit of lateral thinking – dearly missed when it comes to HIV prevention, it could be possible to both make condoms more accessible whilst preventing them being stolen. Anyone who regularly get his morning coffee shot in a Costa or Starbucks will have noticed the robotic way with which shop assistants ask customers if they would like any cake with their coffee. What about CVS store employees doing the same?

“Any condom with this?“

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