The month of September is known for many reasons – for some it can be a month filled with anxiety and excitement since a new scholastic year would be starting for their children or even themselves; others might experience certain melancholic feelings due to it being a month known for suicide awareness. September is also known for the celebration of another ‘special’ day – no, we do not throw a feast for this day, however we usually get more information about necessities which not only improve our lifestyle to a certain extent, but also reduce some anxieties and fears. The 26th of September is World Contraception Day!
Call me childish, but World Contraception Day always makes me grin as it makes me think of the Maltese sex-ed system – and its joke of a curriculum (excuse my language). As a girl who only knew of the different male and female body parts, I now feel that this innocence was in a way, slightly taken advantage of. I am 20 years old, and me and the students in my year were taught to fear the word sex and sex itself. We were taught that sex should only be done for procreation and that the only way to not get pregnant is through complete abstinence. Contraception was not in our vocabulary until then, but once it was introduced, it was introduced as an umbrella term for one word – condoms. I can say that when as a 12 or 13 year old I was asked to ‘master’ the skill of putting a condom on a dildo, and being completely honest, I found this to be very embarrassing, since this had to be done in front of around 10 other girls whilst being judged by our teacher. I remember that a few days after this ‘successful’ session, we had to miss some lessons to go to an important meeting about sexual education; this meant that male teachers would be present, which caused an uncomfortable atmosphere. There were also other male individuals that we had never seen before in our life. The session was carried out by a lovely nurse, who ironically taught us we as girls should carry a condom in our bra just in case we were to get raped. Yes, you read that right. According to the curriculum (or the way it was taught to us that day), we should carry a condom in our bra, so if a man attempts to rape us, we get out the condom, put it on him or just hand it to him, and then allow him to carry on with his heinous crime. The point of this was to prevent STIs, which yes, condoms do prevent STIs, but giving the rapist a condom is like saying yes do what you want. I bet it would work against you in court if you get to report the monster.
They did mention the female condom, as well as the fact that you need the help of a GP to have it inserted, however that was the extent of it all. I learned much more about contraception, methods and benefits from reading Wham articles, and Instagram than I learned during those 45 minute lessons. World Contraception Day was never mentioned at school, probably because it goes against the idea that sex is only done for procreation – people should know that safe sex is good sex, and that being safe from STIs with a lesser chance of a pregnancy would lead to better sex!
World Contraception Day was created to make individuals conscious of all contraceptive methods available as well as to allow the younger generation to make more informed choices regarding their sexual and reproductive health. My generation must have the opportunity to access sexual and reproductive health awareness, which includes family planning, as well as the skills and knowledge needed to make the best decision about our own life. Additionally, for women who, unfortunately, have been diagnosed with chronic or pre-existing conditions, information about contraception can be life changing.
Whilst doing my research for this article I also found that World Contraception Day also creates more awareness on things that seemed obvious throughout our lifetime, but we may have possibly never actually acknowledged the information. For instance, females are more likely to undertake the emotional, financial and physical burden of contraception – as if pregnancy and all the things related to it was not enough! It was surprising when I found out that, unlike what the teachers told us during puberty, there are more than 10 different forms of contraception for females and 2 for males. This shows that there needs to be a shared responsibility when it comes to contraception – the female should NOT carry the responsibility on her own.
Here I compiled a list of artificial contraception methods available to people with uteruses:
- Birth Control Pills
- Birth Control Patch
- Contraceptive Ring
- Depot Injections
- Internal Condom
- Diaphragm
- Birth Control Sponge
- Cervical Cap
- Spermicide
- Implants
- Emergency Contraceptive
- IUD
- Tubal Sterilization
While for individuals with penises, besides the natural method of pulling out also known as coitus interruptus, there are:
- Condoms
- Vasectomy
Although one can choose from quite a list which contraception method is best for herself, her partner and their lifestyle, there is still another issue that needs to be dealt with, and that is the stigma. The feelings of shame experienced by many young people when buying a packet of condoms, or asking where they are in a store. I’ve even seen Facebook posts related to this – maybe you’ve seen one where a male is covering his face with one hand and the cashier is giving him a weird look while scanning a bouquet of roses, chocolates and condoms. In my opinion, this needs to stop as there should not be any shame – humans are sexual beings and should not be embarrassed for buying something that anyone can buy.
Having said that, I know people who feel embarrassed when buying sanitary items like pads and tampons, and a few years ago, I was one of those people, so yes, I understand where the shame is coming from. And that is why we need to keep advocating to the government to see to the public’s needs. Vending machines should be available, stocked up with condoms and sanitary items for women, in various public areas and also including private ones so that one would feel ‘free’ to buy contraception without any shame. Even better, I think that making contraception free would be better as not everyone is financially able to spend money on condoms! Making them available for everyone shows that the government notices the diversity of situations in Malta and how important it is to listen to the populations’ needs.
Finally, when it comes to contraception, it is important to keep in mind that the decision of what contraception to make use of should be yours and yours alone. You are the one having sex, and thus no one should tell you what you should and should not use, inform yourself, read up and discuss with your doctor or gynae which system they think should be best suited for you.Remember that it’s your life! And so it should be YOUR CHOICE!
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Christianne Marie Galea is currently reading for a B.A (Hons) in Early Childhood Education and Care at the Faculty of Education, University of Malta, which will lead her to become an early childhood educator. Her wish is to create an environment in which her class children will feel comfortable sharing their thoughts and emotions while expressing themselves freely.
In her free time Christianne loves creating art through mixed mediums such as water colours, acrylic, pencil colours and aquarelles. She also loves listening to music, acting and spending time with her sisters.
Click here to check out Christianne’s full bio as well as a list of all her Wham published articles
