Why can’t young people buy condoms without being reported? - By Jessie Abraham

Jessie Abraham acknowledges that everyone in the community should do everything we can to protect children and young people from all forms of abuse and neglect.

Ms Abraham, 23, said in Darwin today, “With the government limiting the sale of condoms to young people, we may prevent them from accessing sexual health services and testing. This is going to have huge ramifications for young people now and in the future.”

“STIs that are left untreated have huge implications such as infertility, chronic illness and shame. And of course, there will be an increase in unwanted pregnancies and maybe even an increase of condoms for sale on the “black” market within school yards and on the street” she said today.

“And what about deaths from “backyard” abortions as a result of young women not being able to anonymously buy condoms? Young women may be scared to access proper medical treatment, and the epidemic of STIs in young people here in the NT will increase, no doubt. And there’ll be no way for us to gather accurate statistics about unwanted pregnancies or STI rates, as young people won’t be able to get tested or speak to their doctor about it without fear of being reported.”

“It is a massive step backwards” said Ms Abraham

Ms Abraham said “It’s hard enough for women, especially young women, to buy condoms without a huge amount of shame. On top of that, they have to convince their sexual partners to use the condoms - we need to remember that the pill does not cover any STIs and isn’t 100% safe. And what impact will the binge drinking culture here in the NT have on high risk behaviours in young and older people?”

“Instead of banning the sale of condoms, our community needs to increase sexual health education including how to correctly use male and female condoms and dental dams with lubrication” she said.

“We need to talk with young people about what a healthy relationship is. This needs to be held in schools or other places that young people hang out, without abstinence based education being the only option. Empowering young people to make educated decisions means they have better health outcomes. Educated people make informed choices” concluded Jessie Abraham, local sex worker and safe sex activist.