D.C. first U.S. city to give out free female condoms in AIDS battle

[Liberal_in_LA]

D.C. first U.S. city to give out free female condoms in AIDS battle
The District of Columbia will become the first city in the United States to distribute condoms for females for free, part of a project that will make 500,000 available in beauty salons, convenience stores and high schools in parts of the city with high HIV rates.

By Darryl Fears

The Washington Post

WASHINGTON — The District of Columbia will become the first city in the United States to distribute condoms for females for free, part of a project that will make 500,000 available in beauty salons, convenience stores and high schools in parts of the city with high HIV rates.

City officials said the distribution could begin within the next three weeks in city wards where a study showed that large numbers of African-American heterosexuals engage in risky sexual behavior that could easily lead to infection.

The move is an official acknowledgment of the futility of relying solely on the use of men's condoms, which have been distributed citywide for nearly a decade, to stem the city's epidemic of HIV and AIDS. Officials said they are turning to condoms for females to give women more power to protect themselves from HIV and sexually transmitted diseases when their partners refuse to use protection.

HIV/AIDS infection is the leading cause of death for black women 25-34 nationwide. A 2008 report showed the D.C. HIV/AIDS rate at 3 percent, or about 15,100 adults, a major epidemic.

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/nationworld/2011276931_condoms07.html

"Anywhere male condoms are available, female condoms will be available," said Shannon Hader, director of the D.C. HIV/AIDS Administration.