College students to receive free condoms

THIRD-LEVEL students are to be given thousands of free condoms as part of a safe sex campaign to combat spiralling infection rates.

The initiative at UCD, DCU, Galway-Mayo IT and Maynooth NUI is aimed at encouraging increased sexual health awareness among young people.

The numbers of reported sexually-transmitted infections have increased hugely in the last decade, with some diseases rising five-fold in a few short years.

STI notifications rose 86% from 1995-2000, up over 25% in one year alone. Syphilis cases rose from six in 1999 to 46 a year later, while chlamydia cases increased six-fold to 1,032 between 1995 and 2000.

Other common infections are gonorrhoea, genital warts, chancroid and non-specific urethritis.

Karen Griffin, information officer with the Irish Family Planning Association, said the main aim of the campaign is to support young people and give them the information necessary to make well-informed decisions.

"There is a need for specific health services for young people, which they would be comfortable in accessing and which would provide confidential, non-judgemental family planning and counselling services," she said.

"There has been a frightening increase in the level of infections like chlamydia, which can cause infertility in women if it goes untreated," Ms Griffin said.

The IFPA has been seeking the provision of free access to contraception for under-25s. Ms Griffin said this was mainly prompted by the growing number of younger teenagers coming to them with crisis pregnancies.

The association has teamed up with manufacturers Durex to hand out more than 20,000 condoms on the campuses of the four colleges.

But they will also be giving students leaflets informing them of the infections they risk from unsafe sex.

Seamus Ó Maonaigh, welfare officer at UCD, said the image of impoverished students is not a stereotype.

"The fact is that the cost of a doctor's appointment and contraception is a real issue for students," he said.

Kirsty Verity of Durex said it is no longer effective to preach to young people about the benefits of practising safer sex.

"This campaign is about delivering the safer sex message in a way we feel connects with our audience. At a time in their lives where inhibitions can sometimes be forgotten, we are reminding them to look after themselves and their partner," she said.