Starting in January, young French people between the ages of 18 and 25 will be able to obtain free condoms from pharmacies. This measure is introduced due to the fact that between 2020 and 2021, the number of cases of venereal diseases in France will increase by 30%. Announcing the innovation, Emmanuel Macron called it a “small preventive revolution.”
“We are not doing very well on this issue,” the French president confessed, addressing the issue of sex education. “The reality is very different from the theory. And this is where we need to train teachers much better.”
“The free distribution of condoms is just one part of a broader campaign by the French Ministry of Health to combat sexually transmitted diseases and improve access to contraception for the population”.
In 2018, the authorities introduced a practice of reimbursing the cost of condoms purchased at pharmacies with prescriptions from doctors or family planning clinics. Earlier this year, the government decided to provide free contraceptives to all women under the age of 26 who wanted them, and millions of French women took advantage of the opportunity. (Previously, only girls under the age of 18 could receive free contraceptives.)
Scotland has been a pioneer in providing free intimate hygiene products to protect health, passing a law in 2020 to provide free sanitary pads and tampons to women in need. The law, which was unanimously approved by members of the Scottish Parliament, states that local authorities must find a way to ensure that every resident in the country can receive free sanitary towels, tampons or other existing feminine hygiene products “without difficulty or loss of dignity” if necessary.
The need for such measures arose after the young charity Young Scot published the results of its research, which found that around a quarter of schoolgirls and students in Scotland find it financially difficult to buy the toiletries they need every month.