Advocacy Manager for MHRYN, Hastings Saka, while presenting Evidence Based Targeted HIV Prevention Project Quarterly report to Lilongwe District Aids Coordinating Committee (DACC), said statistics for the project which is advocating for HIV prevention among vendors and CSWs in Lilongwe show that they prefer male to female condoms due to negative perception towards female condoms.
The project mainly targets vendors and CSWs at Malangalanga Zone, which covers Areas 2, 3, 4 and Malangalanga, Likuni zone which covers Chinsapo 1 and 2; and Chigwirizano.
"Our Interpersonal Communication (IPC) session statistics from April 2013 to September 2013 with female vendors and CSWs show that most women especially CSWs believe female condoms are noisy during sex, unhygienic as they can be put on hours before sex and most men believe that sex workers re use the condoms," said Saka.
The presentation also mentioned that between April and September this year, about 8449 male condoms and 2167 female condoms were distributed respectively.
It further reveals that out of the distributed female condoms, 697 were distributed at Malangalanga Zone while 1470 were distributed at Likuni Zone. On the other hand 3040 male condoms were distributed at Malangalanga Zone and 5409 were distributed at Likuni Zone.
Commenting on the report, Lauryn Sulani, Project Officer for Theatre for Change, an organization empowering CSWs to seek HIV prevention behaviour attributed the low demand for female condoms to negative perception people have towards the first generation of female condoms commonly known as FC1 which were noisy during sex and needed to be put on for eight hours before sex.
"The government now distributes FC2 which, unlike FC1, women can wear them when they are about to have sex just as men do with male condoms. They are also easy to wear compared to FC1 and they do not make noise during sex. There is, however, need to sensitise people on the improvements made to the female condom with the aim of changing people's attitudes," said Sulani.
Phalida Kumwenda, a nurse working with University of North Carolina (UNC) Project which conducts HIV prevention studies, concurred with Sulani stressing that there is need to orient medical personnel who distribute condoms to sensitive clients on the difference between the old and new condoms.
"Most medical personnel do not advocate the use of female condoms. They assume that women would not be interested to use the new female condoms. As a committee, I suggest we sensitise the masses including medical personnel on changes made to the female condoms and empower women on condom usage," said Kumwenda.
Tusekele Mwakasungula, district Aids Coordinator for Lilongwe, welcomed Kumwenda's idea and proposed the formation of Condom Distribution Committee which would coordinate condom distribution as well as sensitise people on condom usage especially the FC2.
"I welcome the suggestion of Female Condom sensitisation campaign. The low demand for female condom is a national wide problem.
"I, therefore, propose the formation of a Condom Distribution Committee whose duties among others will be to advocate for the use of female condoms," said Mwakasungula.
Inspector Kamtukule appealed.
In his mitigation, Botha said he looks after his grandparents and his family.
"I'm asking the court to be lenient with me as I look after my old grant parents and even my own family so if you give me a custodial sentence these people would suffer," Botha said.
However, First Grade Magistrate Billy Wamkaya Ngosi bashed out the mitigation, saying that was a typical form of sexual exploitation.
"This court could not subscribe to the mitigation by the convict, this is a typical form of sexual exploitation," Ngosi ruled.
He further said that cases of such nature are becoming common in the country, hence the need to give offenders stiffer punishment to deter other would be offenders.
Ngosi then sentenced Botha to 96 months imprisonment with hard labour.
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