Despite the number of HIV/AIDS campaigns being run and the popular faces involved, a lot of men are still not heeding messages to condomise and women are being asked to use their alternative.

HIV/AIDS advisor with the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), Carmeta Douglin, told the DAILY NATION on Tuesday that they were empowering women to take responsibility for their reproductive and sexual health with the female condom.

"They [men] talk about having an allergy to the latex, and the female condom is made from polyurethane or nitrile, which does not necessarily cause an easy allergy so there is an alternative . . . . The female condom now is inserted into the female so there is no squeezing or anything.

"All of the excuses that the men used for not wanting to use condoms are counteracted by the use of the female condoms. So we want better responsibility between partners and therefore we want to empower women to take advantage of the new tool of the female condom and make sure that they are protected, even if their male partners are resisting using condoms," Douglin noted.

The diagrams which show a part of the condom hanging outside of the vagina and appears unattractive are apparently not deterring women.

Douglin said the response "has been excellent" throughout the OECS and the Eastern Caribbean, and there had been an increase in the use of the female condom.

In fact, she said the piece of condom which hung on the outside of the vagina covered the genitalia and served as further protection during oral sex, in place of the dental dam. The female condom also protected against herpes.

The regional campaign, which is aimed among other things at promoting the use of female condoms, has found its way to Barbados. A number of trainers armed themselves with updated information on the female condom in particular at a two-day workshop at the Amaryllis Hotel, which ended yesterday.

An upgrade to the female condom known as FC2, which hit the local market in 2004, is now available.

The Barbados workshop is being held in association with the Ministry of Health, the Caribbean HIV/AIDS Regional Training Initiative and the United Nations Population Fund.

Topics being looked at include Behaviour Change, Communication And Condom Use, Myths & Issues Impacting On Condom Use In Barbados and Condom Negotiation Skills. (YB)