'Rubbers For Clubbers' To Encourage Safe Sex In Bristol

Friday, March 5th 2010 07:00

A campaign to encourage people in Bristol to have safe sex will offer clubbers the chance to queue jump at some city venues if they're carrying condoms.

A range of Bristol businesses and organisations are getting behind the campaign to encourage, particularly young people in the city, to take greater care of their sexual health.

For the next ten days 'Got It Covered' will promote condom carrying around the city. As well as clubs and bars, a number of beauty salons, hairdressers and taxi firms are part of the drive to cut unwanted pregnancies and STIs in Bristol. 35 local businesses and organisations have given their backing to the campaign.

The special treatment on offer includes:
-Hair salons offering on-site hair refreshes to clubbers carrying condoms on their night out
-City centre bars distributing specially designed condoms to party goers
-A taxi firm tackling unpreparedness by making condoms available after 10.30pm
-Football favourites Bristol City and Bristol Rovers backing the distribution of condoms in replica kit packaging

At many clubs and bars in the city, clubbers will also be able to head to the front of the queue if they can show door staff they're carrying condoms.

Condoms are also being made available in appropriate locations around the city in a range of quirky designs. These include mock lollipops in bars, aftershave samples in bars and replica sauce sachets available at night from specially constructed street stalls. The designs aim to challenge any stigma associated with condom carrying.

NHS Bristol are involved in the campaign, Anne Colquhoun is their Teenage Pregnancy Strategy Coordinator. She told us: "This is all part of normalising it. If you can get condoms in loads of different venues so, if you can go to the hairdressers you get a condom, if you go to a bar. And of course just because you're carrying a condom, doesn't mean to say that you're going to have sex but it's just about being ready for that."

She added: "We're doing a lot of work in Bristol around trying to make carrying condoms cool and an ok thing to do."

Research reveals that large numbers of young people say they have had unprotected sex due to not having a condom on them at the time .

Got It Covered was first piloted across Liverpool in August 2009 and as a result, the numbers of young people carrying condoms on nights out in the city increased by 55% . Findings suggest the number of Liverpudlians carrying condoms and protecting themselves against STIs was lifted to just over a quarter (28%).

The organisations involved say they'll be evaluating how successful the Got It Covered campaign in Bristol is and be used to make improvements to the PCTs' own condom distribution activities.