Sydney Seeks Safer Sex With Giant Pink Condom

Sydney AIDS advocates sheathed the Hyde Park Obelisk with a giant, 59-foot pink condom on November 6 to promote safer sex, in tandem with the upcoming World AIDS Day on December 1.

Gay Star News reports the giant prophylactic, which is printed with the message "Test More + Treat Early + Stay Safe" is the climax (no pun intended) of a safe sex education launched three weeks ago by the AIDS Council of South Wales (ACON).

ACON CEO Nicolas Parkhill said that while new drugs (like Truvada) and starting to provide other means of protection against HIV, condoms continue to be one of the most effective ways of preventing infection.

"The need for gay men to 'stay safe' by using condoms is at the core of NSW's strategy for eliminating HIV transmission by the end of the decade," said Parkhill. "We won't be able to achieve this goal unless gay men use condoms when they're having high-risk sex with casual partners, particularly in situations where a partner's HIV status isn't known -- it's that simple.'

Although condom use among gay men in NSW is reportedly high, around 44 percent, research from the University of NSW's Centre for Social Research in Health indicates the number of gay men not always using a condom during casual encounters has increased by about 20 percent over the last 15 years.

"We need to constantly find new ways to promote this message, especially in the lead up to World AIDS Day on December 1," said Parkshill. "This installation is sure to create lots of interest as we've selected a very visible icon in a high traffic area. We're hoping to turn lots of heads as well as raise a few eyebrows, not only here on the street but also on social media where the reach of the campaign will be expanded throughout NSW and beyond."

But apparently, safe sex isn't the message some people want to hear - at least not in this form. News Corp Australia reports that Australian Christian Lobby director and outdoor advertising lobbyist Wendy Francis things the stunt was "disgusting" and "completely inappropriate."

"My position on this is always that the government but also the community we have responsibility to our children," she said. "There is a time and place for talking to children, and an age appropriate time for parents to talk to children about condoms. Parents do not want to be forced into a situation where they have to explain something that's not relevant."

Francis also said she thought it was trivializing a serious problem by putting "sexually explicit advertising in public places. It's an Obelisk and we're turning it into a penis."

Oh, Francis, you've got a dirty mind. As ACON notes, it's purpose is to "help raise awareness among gay men about how they can help end HIV transmission in NSW by 2020." And compared to the alternative -- young gay men still dying of HIV/AIDS more than 30 years after the epidemic began -- it looks pretty good to us.