Free condoms in school?

Photo: Contributed

Vernon's school board votes Wednesday evening on whether to approve a condom pilot project for Vernon and Seaton secondary schools.

The purpose of the Interior Health project is to discover if “offering free condoms in schools increases youth access to condoms and results in a decrease in STIs (sexually-transmitted infections) and unplanned pregnancies,” a report to the board stated last month.

If approved, the Vernon schools would be among six facilities involved in the three-month project.

Condoms would be distributed in a brown envelope, with lubricant and a wallet-sized card, in a designated area in all participating schools, according to the report.

The card would include healthy sexuality links and invite students to respond to a survey.

Pilot posters would be made available stating “condoms are now available at school; tell us what you think and you could win a prize.”

The report said STIs and teen pregnancies remain problems, both provincially and nationally.

Chlamydia is the most common reportable STI with the highest incidence among youth and young adults, particularly females.

Figures show close to 2,000 cases of genital chlamydia were reported among residents in the Interior Health region in 2014; 450 cases were among youth aged 15-19 years.

B.C. vital statistics data show the teen pregnancy rate in the region higher than the provincial average from 2008-2012.

The report said free condoms are not consistently available in schools and communities within Interior Health.

Condoms can be difficult to access in small communities due to youth’s concerns about confidentiality, it said.