Friday, July 03, 2009

Condom Conundrum

A new battleground has been established in the churches' struggle against secularism, and once again, differences about sex are part of the mix.

Condom factory production line

Proposals contained in an official review of advertising rules would allow the promotion of pregnancy advisory services, including information about abortion, on television and radio.

The Broadcast Committee on Advertising Practice has also suggested allowing adverts for condoms to be shown before the 9pm watershed, as long as long as they do not appear in programmes aimed at children under ten.

At the moment such adverts are allowed only on Channel Four, after 7pm.

The Independent Advisory Body on Sexual Health wants the restrictions on condom advertising relaxed to tackle increasing rates of pregnancy and sexually transmitted infections in children under sixteen.

More than 11,000 teenagers were diagnosed with chlamydia, herpes, gonorrhoea, syphilis or genital warts between 2002 and 2006.

But church leaders believe society also has plenty to lose if the changes are put in place.

In its response to a public consultation, the Church of England warned that the proposals could lead to "round the clock" promotion of condoms, and suggested that there was no evidence that they would reduce the number of teenage pregnancies or sexually transmitted infections.

The Roman Catholic Church claimed that promoting condoms was similar to promoting sex, and would sexualize "the target audience", including children aged between 10 and 16.

The Church said anti-smoking campaigns showed the adverts would be counter-productive.

Its paper said that whereas young people tended to be advised to reduce the risks of sex by using condoms, smokers were urged to quit altogether.

According to the Church one study found that in anti-smoking campaigns, the promotion of "reduced risk" products could even attract young people to smoke.

The head of the Catholic Church in England and Wales, Archbishop Vincent Nichols, has already denounced existing condom adverts as demeaning to young people by showing drunken and "casual sex on the street corner".

Groups dedicated to improving sexual health have said that providing accurate information would help their cause.

But the RC Church concluded that young people were already being given "an impoverished view of sex", and that more widespread advertising of condoms would distance sex even further from any idea of committed love.
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Source (BBC)

SV (ED)