Efficacy
The female condom is highly effective in preventing both pregnancy and STIs. Estimates of its contraceptive efficacy are in the same range as those of other barrier methods, while failure rates are lower than for the cervical cap and diaphragm. The female condom has the added advantage of providing protection against STIs. A controlled study of STI transmission amongst sex workers in Thailand found that when both female and male condoms were available, the rate of STI transmission was reduced by one-third compared to that in a similar group with access to the male condom only.
The female condom is not a replacement for the male condom but an addition to barrier method options. Results of research interventions in Brazil, India, Thailand, USA and Zambia all indicate that there is an increase in the number of protected sexual acts when the female condom is available alongside the male condom. In Thailand, there was a 17 per cent reduction in unprotected sexual acts when both male and female condoms were available. In Brazil, the number of protected sexual acts increased from 31 per cent at baseline to 65 per cent at the end of a 90 day acceptability study (again when both male and female condoms were available). In a 2002 acceptability study in India, usage of both male and female condoms was consistently high throughout the intervention, rising to 96 per cent at the end of the study period.
The female condom is not a replacement for the male condom but an addition to barrier method options. Results of research interventions in Brazil, India, Thailand, USA and Zambia all indicate that there is an increase in the number of protected sexual acts when the female condom is available alongside the male condom. In Thailand, there was a 17 per cent reduction in unprotected sexual acts when both male and female condoms were available. In Brazil, the number of protected sexual acts increased from 31 per cent at baseline to 65 per cent at the end of a 90 day acceptability study (again when both male and female condoms were available). In a 2002 acceptability study in India, usage of both male and female condoms was consistently high throughout the intervention, rising to 96 per cent at the end of the study period.
- The female condom and HIV/AIDS
- ( Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS , 1997)
- This brief Point of View publication from UNAIDS – part of the Best Practice series – provides a brief discussion of the key issues relating to the female condom and AIDS. It begins by providing a st...
- Introducing …the female condom: what is the most appropriate approach?
- ( Joanna Busza / id21 Development Research Reporting Service , 2003)
- The female condom reduces the risk of sexually transmitted infections (STIs), including HIV, and can empower women in negotiations with sexual partners. But it must be presented to them in the right w...
- Female condom: the Indian experience
- ( Female Health Company , 2004)
- This study, commissioned by the Female Health Foundation and the Hindustan Latex Family Planning Promotion Trust, aims to assess the acceptability and feasibility of female condoms among users and non...
- Testing the market for the female condom in Zambia
- ( Sohail Agha / id21 Development Research Reporting Service , 2002)
- The female condom could reduce the spread of HIV by increasing the prevention options available to sexually active adults. Marketing of the female condom at subsidised prices began in Lusaka, Zambia, ...
