Why Global Citizens Should Care
This Argentinian company is sending a bold message with its clever condom packaging: only “yes” means yes. The packaging is part of an ad campaign to raise awareness about the need for both consent and safe sex practices to protect one’s sexual health. You can take action in support of gender equality and access to health care here.

Only “yes” means yes — and that’s the message Argentine adult toy company Tulipán is sending with its new “consent pack” of condoms, Adweek reported.

The condoms come in boxes that can only be opened with two pairs of hands and were produced as limited edition items as part of an ad campaign to raise awareness about consent and safe sex.

“Tulipán has always spoken of safe pleasure, but for this campaign we understood that we had to talk about the most important thing in every sexual relationship: pleasure is possible only if you both give your consent first,” said Joaquin Campins, a spokesperson for BBDO Argentina, the ad agency behind the idea.

“If it’s not a yes, it’s a no,” he added.

Take Action: Urge Leaders to Step Up for Women's Rights and Health

The unique condoms will be available in limited quantities at select bars and events around the country’s capital Buenos Aires, making a statement about both sexual violence and sexual health, Adweek reported.

Violence against women is “endemic” in Argentina, according to Human Rights Watch.

Despite attempts to curb sexual violence — including a fine against sexual harassment instituted in Buenos Aires in 2016 — a persistent “machismo culture” that devalues women and praises toxic masculinity remains a major barrier, experts say.

Read More: The Pope Called Femicide a 'Plague' Throughout Latin America

In addition to struggling to prevent sexual violence, the rate of condom usage among Argentinian men is alarmingly low, according to AHF Argentina, an HIV/AIDS advocacy nonprofit.

Less than 15% of men surveyed by the organization said they regularly use condoms — and 20% said they never used condoms. These startling statistics inspired BBDO and Tulipán to create this campaign, CNET reported.

Condoms, when used correctly, are an effective means of preventing both unplanned pregnancies and the transmission of HIV/AIDS and other sexually transmitted infections, according to the World Health Organization. Proper and regular use of condoms can not only prevent infections, but empower women and their partners to plan how they grow their families.

Though Tulipán’s “consent pack” of condoms won’t be sold on the mass market, the messages of consent and sexual health that they send should be widely distributed.

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This Condom Can't Be Opened Without Two Pairs of Consenting Hands

Par Daniele Selby