Tell CVS to unlock their condoms!

When used correctly, condoms are highly effective in preventing HIV and pregnancy. Condoms also provide protection against many STIs and the great thing about them is they’re usually easy to get. Just head to the store and pick up a box. But a report released by Change to Win highlights the fact that in many low income and minority neighborhoods CVS stores display condoms only in locked cabinets. Those who want condoms must find a store employee and wait for them to unlock the cabinet – which might make some people turn right around and not buy the condom at all.

The study looked at stores in Detroit, Los Angeles, Houston, Philadelphia, New York City and Miami between September 2007 and January 2008. In some cities, the percentage of CVS stores with locked condoms was more than three times higher in communities of color than in areas that are predominately white.

The cities listed also have some of the highest numbers of AIDS cases in the country.

CVS says they lock up condoms “based on whether shoplifting is to such a degree that they’re becoming unavailable for customers to purchase.” However, competitors Rite Aid and Walgreens both have policies against locking up condoms.

Don’t let CVS create barriers for young people who want to act responsibly and protect themselves. Join Advocates for Youth and Change to Win in demanding that CVS adopt a corporate policy against locking up condoms!

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A petition to the CVS Corporation:

Every year, over 56,000 people in the United States are infected with HIV. The United States has one of the highest rates of teen pregnancy in the industrialized world. And, the CDC estimates that there are almost 19 million new sexually transmitted infections each year; almost half of them occur in young people ages 15-24.

Condoms are the most effective method of preventing the transmission of STDs for sexually active people. Yet in many CVS stores, condoms are locked behind glass. A recent study showed that many of these stores are located in low-income and largely minority areas where oftentimes HIV/AIDS rates are disproportionately higher than national averages.

CVS’s largest competition, Walgreens, already has a policy prohibiting condoms from being locked behind glass. It’s time that CVS does the same.

Together, we the undersigned:

Call on CVS to unlock condom cases in all its stores. Locked condoms create a barrier to condom access, and could be a threat to public health.

CVS's practice of locking condom cases in minority neighborhoods is unacceptable, and we urge CVS to change its store policy. Walgreens and Rite-Aid prohibit condom lock-up: it's time CVS did the same.

All communities deserve fair and equal access to condoms. Unlock condoms now!

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**Information entered will be shared with Cure CVS Now, the advocacy organization taking lead in this fight, for presentation to CVS headquarters. They will not share your information with any other organization.