Impact Data - Female Condom Campaign

At baseline, 17% of the sex workers reported ever using the female condom. This climbed to 51% of those interviewed in the final survey (p < .001). However, only 35% of the final survey respondents who had ever used the female condom claimed to be current users; major complaints were difficulty of insertion and aesthetics. Less than a fourth of users actually bought a female condom (most women reported using condoms they received for free). All of the women who purchased the female condom were willing to pay at most US$1.32 for each one; only 40% would be willing to pay when the hypothetical price rose to US$1.70. (The price of a male condom at the time of the study was US$0.22).

Furthermore, the intervention did not affect male condom use with new clients. About 97% of women in both the pre- and post-intervention samples reported that they always used a male condom with a new or occasional client. There was a significant decrease in consistent condom use with intimate partners: 53% of the pre-intervention sample who had a boyfriend or spouse always used a male condom compared with 37% of the post-intervention sample (p < 0.01).

In addition, reported levels of protected sex did not improve. When asked about protected vaginal sex in the previous 2 weeks, 83% of the women in the baseline survey said they always used either a male or female condom with all of their partners. In the final survey, only 69% said they always used protection (p < .001).

Organisers site several reasons for this lack of impact: "First, there were fewer than expected female condom promotional activities conducted by the social marketing organization at the study sites. Second, during the project period there was a severe downturn in the economy that likely affected sex workers' ability to buy female condoms, which sold for more than six times the price of a male condom. A third reason may be that as a result of increased rapport between the researchers and the study population at the time of the final survey, there may have been a greater willingness to answer questions about protected sex more honestly, which resulted in a lower figure compared to the baseline survey."

Sex workers noted a number of benefits associated with use of the female condom. One street-based sex worker said, "I go to the bathroom and insert the female condom without him noticing it. And I do not lose money and at the same time I protect myself."

Findings from the final survey show that 72% of women who used a female condom within the last 6 months reported using one with a regular client, compared to 14% who used the female condom with a client they didn't know well or did not know at all. 35% said they used a female condom with a boyfriend. Some sex workers mentioned that they felt more comfortable using it with someone they trust rather than with a stranger.

Researchers found that practice increases sex workers' comfort with the female condom.