Valentine's Day has become an event that policymakers and advocacy groups in Thailand use to launch campaigns against unwanted pregnancy, sexually transmitted diseases and other gender issues. This year is no different.
Since Feb 1, the National Health Security Office (NHSO) has been distributing for free almost 100 million condoms to subscribers of the 30-baht universal healthcare scheme through the Pao Tang mobile and online application.
The campaign is part of the office's bid to address the transmission of sexually transmitted diseases, such as syphilis, gonorrhoea, chlamydia, and human papillomavirus infections, which can cause ovarian cancer.
The free condom distribution was an add-on to the ongoing provision of birth control pills, which began on Valentine's Day last year. People can pick up these birth control kits at designated health offices.
For this year, automatic condom dispensing machines have been installed at three spots so far in Pattaya, and Chon Buri, while more machines are to be installed in other parts of the country.
The free distribution of condoms is also part of national efforts to reduce the rate of unwanted pregnancy among teen students aged between 15-19 years old to 15 per 1,000 population by 2025, from the current rate of 25 per 1,000 population.
While our policymakers especially deserve praise for trying to expand access to sexual reproductive health services, questions remain.
A concern is whether targeted groups -- especially young students -- will actually use these condoms and birth control pills.
There is another challenge with the ethnic hill tribe villagers in Mae Hong Son and Chiang Rai, who are seen as being vulnerable to unplanned pregnancies. The NHSO needs to create a logistics system to give these villagers access to such items.
But a bigger issue is how ineffective sex education has been in the country.
Despite sex education being taught for over four decades, teaching has focused on the physical and biological development side and less on instilling conducive attitudes towards safe sex and dealing with discrimination such as homophobia and misogynist attitudes.
The most updated survey of sex education in Thailand, which was published in 2017 by Unicef and the government's National Statistical Office (NSO), then confirmed worrying trends.
The survey was conducted with 8,800 students and 700 teachers in 397 high schools and vocational colleges.
According to the survey, 54% of female students said they were confident that they could persuade their boyfriends to use condoms. But the majority of the male students said they did not want to use condoms, while most of the respondents said they did not understand nor know how to count the ovulation reproduction calendar.
The same survey gave a bleak picture in regard to human rights, with 41% of respondents in vocational colleges believing husbands can beat unfaithful wives, while 50% of surveyed male students from Mathayom 1-3 believe homosexual sex is wrong.
The big challenge for policymakers is larger than free condoms and birth control pills. Society needs sex education that is able to teach students to love and respect the rights of their partners while reinforcing the need to be responsible when it comes to issues of a sexual nature.
