2014 Global Female Condom Day Dance4Demand

This entertainment-education initiative is designed to support GFCD advocacy through dance, which organisers describe as being powerful because it can be a "fun and easy" way to recruit new friends and colleagues to become female condom supporters. It can also be "newsworthy". Organisers suggest: "If you're planning a dance event in public, invite the media to cover it and get your female condom message out more broadly." Finally, it can serve as a way to communicate to policymakers, donors, and healthcare providers that there is a strong demand for female condoms and urge them to increase their support.

To kick off the GFCD Dance4Demand, organisers "got the party started in July [2014] at the International AIDS Conference in Melbourne, Australia. Dozens of people moved and grooved to show their passion for this protection option." Click here to view videos made on that day.

The song created exclusively for GFCD2014 Dance4Demand, "Rise" by Shaprece, is available on the GFCD website. It is suggested that participants download and familiarise themselves with the song, also consulting a toolkit [PDF] for ideas and practical tips on organising the dance. Organisers are "excited to see how a common cause and song inspires different dance movements from around the world." On September 16, dancers are asked to incorporate the colour orange and/or the GFCD logo into the event. The next task is documentation via videotape (e.g., via smart phone or camera) and/or photos so that the dance can be brought to life via a global audience. Then, dancers can share these videos and photos through their own social media channels (Twitter, Facebook, Flickr, YouTube, etc.) and/or submit them directly to GFCD organisers online.

Women, Health, Reproductive Health, HIV, Rights

"The female condom is the only tool currently available designed to offer woman-initiated protection against STIs [sexually transmitted infections], HIV, and unplanned pregnancy." Organisers say that female condoms are recognised by leading health authorities as an essential component of reproductive health and HIV programmes, yet global access remains limited. In 2011, female condoms made up only 1.27% of total United States (US) government condom shipments overseas. This, despite the fact that the World Health Organization (WHO) and the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) recommend counseling about and access to female and male condoms for family planning clients who are also at risk of HIV. Dance4Demand organisers also say that studies indicate that female condoms are acceptable among diverse groups of women and men and that data show that female condoms are comparable to male condoms in preventing pregnancy and STIs, including HIV. They also describe female condoms as an empowerment tool; for example, female condoms can help receptive partners negotiate safer sex in some situations when male condom use is not possible.