Condoms in Lockdown

According to a recent article in The Washington Post, nearly half of the Washington area CVS stores keep condoms in a locked cabinet. Customers must push a buzzer and request their items from a store employee.

The Post interviewed 17-year-old Sindy Dominguez. She and her boyfriend went to one CVS, where they pushed the buzzer several times, waiting for assistance, and no one responded. Feeling awkward and embarrassed, the couple (who are already parents of a young child) left the store, and instead of buying a large box of condoms, purchased a few single condoms at a nearby gas station.

According to CVS, the reason that condoms are locked up is to prevent theft. Mike DeAngelis, a CVS spokesman, told The Post, "We're not trying to restrict access — we're trying to prevent people from stealing."

A Dangerous Policy

Public health advocates are outraged at what appears to be a trend. In addition to CVS, The Post reports that grocery chains Safeway and Giant and Shoppers Food & Pharmacy Warehouse in nearby DC suburbs all have stores with locked condoms. (Drugstores Rite-Aid and Eckerd have a policy against locking up condoms, regardless of the store location.)

Critics of the policy insist that theft is not the issue — fear of theft is the issue, and these fears are prejudicial. Many of the CVS stores that lock up condoms are located in middle to lower-income neighborhoods in DC and nearby suburbs. As The Post points out, the condoms in a CVS located in the Ritz Carlton Hotel were unlocked.

Others suggest the policy is based on fear of sex itself — that unfettered access to condoms encourages sexual activity, particularly among teens. Studies have consistently shown that this is not the case — access to condoms increases condom use and safer sex practices but access itself does not promote sexual activity.

Bad Medicine

Regardless of CVS's true motives, locking up condoms in lower-income DC neighborhoods — or anywhere — is bad medicine.

DC has the highest rate of new HIV/AIDS cases in the country. It is estimated that one in every 20 adults in DC is living with HIV — and as many as one third are not aware of their HIV status.

Rates of sexually transmitted infections (STIs) are also high in DC. The city has almost four times the national rate of gonorrhea, three times the national rate of syphilis, and more than twice the national rate of chlamydia.

And local government is not taking up the slack when it comes to condom distribution. The DC Appleseed Center for Law and Justice recently reported that the city is not giving out as many condoms as it has the capacity to distribute. In 2005, only 125,000 condoms were given out, as opposed to 290,000 in 2004.

The Power of a Dirty Look

Defenders of the CVS policy point out that condoms are available at the stores, and the only requirement is that customers request them. However, many people, particularly young people, feel uncomfortable requesting condoms from employees.

Planned Parenthood of Metropolitan Washington (PPMW) reports that many young women have had unfortunate experiences with locked-up condoms. Some, after asking for help, reported receiving dirty looks from the employees or lectures on being too young for sex. Rather than face an awkward conversation with a CVS employee, other women reported leaving the store as soon as they saw that the condoms were locked up.

Christine Spencer-Grier, director of community education at PPMW, told The Post, "Teens are very sensitive to a disparaging look, a lecture — all of those things are very intimidating." She said many women left stores without condoms but still intending to have sex.

Sindy Domiguez's CVS experience could affect her sexual health. She told The Post, "I don't think I'll ever buy [condoms] for myself. That experience turned me off."

Increasing Access

While condoms may be under lock and key at certain drugstores, they are available for free or at reduced cost at many health centers — including PPMW's Teen Clinic in northeast DC. Founded in 2003, the Teen Clinic is aimed at low-income youth who are particularly at risk for unintended pregnancy and STIs.

With a teen-friendly atmosphere, equipped with videogames and a foosball table, the clinic is a place where each year hundreds of young people can simply hang out, as well as receive integrated reproductive health care and medically accurate sex education — and get condoms. PPMW community outreach manager Irwin Royster estimates that 50 bags of condoms — which include two latex condoms, a female condom, and a sample of lube — are handed out each day.

After the success of the first teen clinic, PPMW recently opened a new clinic for Latino teens outside the city, in Gaithersburg, MD.

PPMW realizes that making condoms as easy as possible to access is more important than the bottom line — a principle ignored by some local merchants.

The Power of the Purse

The Post story was a wake-up call to DC residents, and some have decided to use the power of the purse to send a message to CVS and other stores that lock-up condoms. On DCist.com, a DC community blog, one woman advised, "Just go to a store that doesn't lock them up and tell CVS that while you were there, you also spent another $40 on all the other essentials you need[ed]."

© 2006 Planned Parenthood Federation of America, Inc. All rights reserved.