For the Swiss, condoms mean safety but not pleasure
The Swiss understand the merits of safe sex but some take risks in the name of more pleasure.
Keystone
Switzerland’s new HIV prevention campaign puts condom use front and centre. No contraceptive method is as widespread in Switzerland, but despite knowledge of the risks some Swiss continue to shun the rubber in pursuit of greater pleasure.
Even if the population is aware of the condom’s protective powers against HIV and other sexually transmitted diseases (STDs), this knowledge does not translate into systematic use, according to a survey by the Sotomo research institute, commissioned by the Federal Office of Public Health.
No rubber means more risks
For 81% of the 1,019 participants in the survey, the condom makes it possible to have safer sex. But more than half (58%) of respondents argue that wearing one reduces the intensity of sex. The same proportion sees putting a rubber on as an unwelcome interruption.
In total, one in two respondents (52%) reported a decrease in pleasure.
Despite this ambivalence, survey participants report using condoms in new and occasional relationships more often than they did at the start of their sexual lives.
The survey was conducted in French and German-speaking parts of the country among participants between the ages of 16 and 60.
Federal Office of Public Health
Prevention
The 2019 “And… action!” campaign, seen on billboards, online and social media across Switzerland, shows the moments when safe sex begins in different life situations. The Love Life logo is designed as a condom package, which opens at the right time.
Knowing that condoms protect against HIV infection is an essential part of prevention. The number of diagnosed HIV cases has been decreasing in Switzerland for years. According to the health ministry, there were 425 documented cases last year.
The first national AIDS prevention campaign was launched in 1987.
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