Valentine’s Day is a day of celebrating love for some. For others it will be a day in which they drown their single sorrows in chocolate and Cupid’s Broken Arrow Martinis. But no matter how you are celebrating, or sorrowing, February 14th is also the start of National Condom Week. And what better way to show you care than wearing protection with the one you love?
National Condom Week started in 1978 at UC Berkeley and has been used by colleges, high schools, and clinics as a method of outreach to remind the young, the old, and everyone in between, “no glove, no love.” According to the Centers for Disease Control, young people (age 15 -24) only make up 25% of the population, and yet this age group consists of more than half of the new sexually transmitted infections each year. Using condoms and education young people about safer sex practices could decrease this number. Condoms are 98% effective, if used correctly, at preventing pregnancy, and greatly increase protection against STIs.
So while you’re out buying chocolate and flowers, don’t forget the condoms (and the lube). Remember that the best way to show someone you love them is by using protection.
Need to freshen up on how to use a condom correctly? Check out this video from our Sexuality Education Training Institute...
