Condoms Guilty of Rape

by Alex DiBranco · 2010-05-12 14:20:00 UTC
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Remember when I wrote about condom vending machines installed at an Italian school? The Pope was all ticked off about this safe sex move "trivializing sexuality." But the nefarious rubbers are guilty of far more than that: apparently they also cause rape.

Yes, I just read that the head of Italy's national association of Catholic pharmacists, Piero Uroda, fingered condoms as the guilty party in increased incidents of rape and violence. He makes the strange parallel, "It's like giving sugar to a diabetic." Wow. How about condemning his comment as trivializing sexual assault? Rapists don't rape because of the availability of condoms, and providing young people with the ability to protect themselves from HIV/AIDS during consensual sex is a life-saving measure. Especially since the rate of HIV among young people on Italy has been on the rise.

The Catholic Church doesn't have a sterling record on condoms or sexual assault. Take the Vatican's declaration that condoms don't protect against AIDS, despite the fact that promoting sex safe is one of the best tools we have against this epidemic. (At least this crazy demonization of condoms didn't coming directly from the Pope's residence.) And I hardly need to remind readers of the ongoing scandal over the sexual abuse of children by priests, although you might not have heard about the rape of nuns by male clergy. Should we blame this on the existence of condoms, too?

Photo credit: Augapfel

Alex DiBranco is a Change.org Editor who has worked for the Nation, Political Research Associates, and the Center for American Progress. She is now based in New York City.
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