Results tagged “condom access”

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Kansas City Star investigates CVS stores over condom lock-up

The Kansas City Star recently visited area CVS stores to check for the presence of locked condom cases -- and its findings mirror those of our own Cure CVS surveys conducted in other markets across the country, indicating that CVS locks condoms disproportionately in communities of color. CVS's chief competitor, Walgreen's, has a corporate policy prohibiting locking up condoms in its stores.

Furthermore, the Kansas City Star investigation revealed that, contrary to CVS's claims, CVS does not always make smaller, three-pack boxes of condoms available without staff assistance, even in stores in which it locks up the larger quantity boxes.

UPDATE: The video above, from NBC News in Kansas City, discusses how some community organizations are taking action on this issue.

Read the full article that appeared on the front page of today's Kansas City Star here.
Read NBC Kansas City's coverage of the issue here.

Posted by Alex G. on July 13, 2009 3:29 PM

Support Cure CVS's Unlock the Condoms

Become an ally of Cure CVS's Unlock the Condoms Initiative! Link to our petition using our handy web buttons. Right click on the version you like and "Save Image As" to save it to your computer for use on your site.

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Posted by Alex G. on June 16, 2009 2:58 PM

Video: Cure CVS's Unlock the Condom Initiative Launches in Washington, DC

Representatives from over 200 community groups have signed a letter calling on CVS CEO Tom Ryan to adopt a company-wide policy prohibiting locked condom cases in CVS stores. On Thursday, June 11, in Dupont Circle in Washington, DC., the Cure CVS Unlock the Condoms initiative made these demands public with a press conference and rally. The initiative encourages everyone to sign our petition asking CVS to Unlock the Condoms!

Posted by Alex G. on June 15, 2009 3:32 PM

Video: Activists Call on CVS to Unlock Condom Cases in its Stores

Representatives from nine different communities groups, surrounded by dozens of supporters, spoke out against CVS's practice of locking condom cases in its stores on Thursday. Washingtonian bloggers captured some of the speakers discussing the issue. [Via]

Posted by Alex G. on June 12, 2009 2:36 PM

In Photos: Press Conference Held Near CVS in Dupont Circle, Washington, DC

Protesters gathered in Dupont Circle this afternoon, near the CVS pharmacy there, for a press conference and to protest CVS's practice of locking condom cases disproportionately in communities of color. To read more about CVS's condom lockup practices, click here.

Posted by Alex G. on June 11, 2009 5:52 PM

Protesters Gather in Washington DC to Tell CVS to Unlock Condom Cases

Over 200 community groups - working on issues from women's health to HIV/AIDS prevention - are calling on CVS CEO Tom Ryan to unlock condom cases in the company's nearly 7,000 stores nationwide. Representatives from several of the groups convened today in Washington, DC. to rally for the cause and discuss the issue publicly.

Public health advocates have criticized the practice of locking condom cases, saying that it creates a barrier to access and stigmatizes condoms, both of which could lead to decreased condom use.

Even more unsettling is the fact that CVS disproportionately locks condom cases in communities of color and Latino communities. Surveys of more than 2,200 CVS stores found that the company locks up condoms in 19 of 21 markets surveyed. In 9 of those markets, CVS is at least three times more likely to lock condoms in communities of color than in white communities.

CVS locks condoms in these communities despite the fact that HIV/AIDS is the number one killer of black American women between the ages of 25 and 34, and the rate of new HIV infections among Latinos is three times the rate of whites.

Join hundreds of individuals nationwide who have already called on CVS to unlock its condom cases by signing our petition to the company here.

Posted by Alex G. on June 11, 2009 3:36 PM

Los Angeles activists call on CVS to unlock condom cases

Activists in Los Angeles rallied outside a downtown CVS yesterday, as reported by CBS2 (Los Angeles), calling on the retail pharmacy chain to unlock condom cases in all its stores, and to adopt a corporate policy prohibiting condom lockup. A recent survey of 45 CVS stores in Los Angeles County found locked condom cases at 11 of the stores - nearly one quarter. The survey also found CVS stores with locked condom cases are more often located in areas with higher concentrations of Latinos and people of color - populations disproportionately affected by HIV and AIDS. All of the CVS stores found with locked condoms were on the Eastside of Los Angeles. By contrast, of the 23 stores surveyed in the West side of Los Angeles - the part of the County with proportionately fewer residents of color and of Latino background - not a single CVS store locked up condoms.

Locking condom cases creates a barrier to condom access by "forcing would-be purchasers to ask store personnel for access [and] stigmatizes condom use." In a city where half of all newly diagnosed people with AIDS are Latino, and Latinas are four times more likely than white women to be diagnosed with AIDS, locking condom cases in Latino communities is simply unacceptable.

Jorge-Mario Cabrera, a representative from the Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights of Los Angeles (CHIRLA) and an ally at yesterday's rally was quoted in the LA Weekly saying, "No matter where you live, buying condoms can literally mean the difference between life and death, and people on the Eastside should have equal access to condoms. In HIV prevention, communities of color, women and young people, need a partner in prevention, not another insensitive corporate giant. CVS should be called to answer for its practices."

Yesterday's rally was only the latest in a series of demonstrations taking place across the country against CVS's practice of locking condom cases. Activists are calling on CVS to adopt a company-wide policy prohibiting locked condom cases in its stores. Join the call by signing our petition here.

Rubber Soul: CVS Accused of Locking Up Condoms in Its Eastside Stores [LA Weekly, 4/7/09]

Protesters Accuse CVS Of Locking Up Condoms [CBS2 (Los Angeles), 4/7/09]

Posted by Alex G. on April 8, 2009 4:35 PM

We're asking CVS to clean up its act

Activists gathered in Boston, Miami and Washington, DC, today to spread the word about CVS's recurring problems with expired products and locked condom cases.

As community groups gathered in Boston, leafletters handed out fliers in Washington and protestors spoke out in Miami. Throughout the day's events, a recurring theme emerged: consumers are tired of CVS's behavior.

In Miami, surveyors found that 58% of area CVS stores had expired products on their shelves, while over a third of stores kept condoms under lock and key. South Florida Jobs With Justice (SFJWJ), South Florida Interfaith Worker Justice (SFIWJ), National Interfaith Worker Justice (IWJ), Healthcare For All Florida, South Florida AFL-CIO, Florida Immigrant Coalition (FLIC), Students Working for Equal Rights (SWER), A. Philip Randolph Institute, Miami Dade Chapter (APRI), and SEIU 32BJ Florida, Restaurant Opportunities Center (ROC)-Miami all joined Cure CVS in speaking out against the practice.

The Miami Herald quoted Change to Win Executive Director Chris Chafe saying, "This is offensive to our members who go to work and work hard everyday, including those who work in the stores...We're quite sure as an industry leader they can, should and must do better."

Continue reading We're asking CVS to clean up its act.

Posted by Alex G. on April 2, 2009 5:47 PM

What do we want? Condom access!

From the Philadelphia City Paper, a short, pithy video describing Cure CVS's protest in front of a CVS store in North Philadelphia on Thursday, Feb. 12. Full video transcript after the jump.

Continue reading What do we want? Condom access!.

Posted by Alex G. on February 17, 2009 10:04 AM

New Yorkers Speak Out Against CVS's Condom Lockup

From New York City's NY1 News:
"We are in the top 10 counties in the nation for the spread of HIV and AIDS. It is irresponsible and racist to keep condoms locked up where people don't have access to them," said Lisa Winters, Bronx Community Pride Center.

"People shoplift in the suburbs, people shoplift in wealthier and white neighborhoods and they are not locking up condoms in those neighborhoods. Locking up condoms puts people at risk," said Louis Guida, CURE CVS.
Public Health Groups Hand Out Condoms In Bronx [NY1 News]

Posted by Alex G. on February 13, 2009 10:21 AM

In Photos: Unlock the Condoms!

Photos from events in Boston, New York City, Philadelphia and Los Angeles where public health advocates, civil rights groups and community leaders spoke out against CVS's practice of locking condom cases in communities of color.

Posted by Alex G. on February 12, 2009 4:47 PM

Download Cure CVS Valentines

This Valentine's Day, tell CVS what's in your heart: ask the company to unlock condoms in all communities!

Use our Cure CVS Valentines to share with friends and family, or use them to send a very special message directly to the company. Just download, print and cut along the lines. Nothing beats it for the special someone in your life who cares about fair treatment for all communities!

To read more about CVS's condom policy and why it deserves to change, go to the Unequal Access section of our website.

Click here to download Cure CVS's "Unlock the Condoms" Valentine.

Posted by Alex G. on February 12, 2009 11:53 AM

Join the Call! Tell CVS to Unlock Condoms

Community groups and public health advocates are calling on CVS to change its unfair condom lock-up policy. We'll be out in four cities today but support is already coming out online:

Jenice Armstrong: CVS urged to 'free' condoms [Philadelphia Daily News]
Gary J. Bell, executive director of BEBASHI (Blacks Educating Blacks About Sexual Health Issues), said in an e-mail, "The practice of 'locking up condoms' in low-income neighborhoods, especially communities of color where rates of HIV, STI's [sexually transmitted diseases] and pregnancy continue to soar, is both short-sighted and dangerous.
Locked condoms spark protest [Metro Philadelphia]
"We face an HIV infection rate five times the national average," said Joanna Bouldin, of Change to Win. "As a woman, as someone who lives in Philadelphia I find it really appalling that a company that cares about health care" would lock up condoms.
Earth To CVS: Stop Locking Up Condoms In Poor Neighborhoods [Philebrity]
CVS brass say that those stores do so because of shoplifting and -- pardon the word here -- shrinkage history, but the fact remains that this is an awful, awful policy: It puts a barrier between birth control and STD protection in places where it's often needed the most. So today at noon, protesters will gather at the Broad & Girard CVS in an effort to basically shame CVS into setting the jimmy hats free. Philebrity supports this protest -- CVS, there's gotta be another way.

Join the call for reform - tell CVS to have a heart and unlock the condoms!

Posted by Alex G. on February 12, 2009 10:38 AM

Join us at events this week

Join Cure CVS at events this week in Boston, Los Angeles, New York and Philadelphia. We'll be holding press conferences in each city and present CVS with a giant Valentine's message: "Have a Heart - Unlock the Condoms!" Find us at:

Boston
WHERE: CVS store at 778 Dudley St, Dorchester
WHEN: Thursday, Feb. 12, 11:00 AM

New York
WHERE: CVS store at 115 W. 125th Street in Harlem & CVS store at 282 East 149th Street in the Bronx
WHEN: Thursday, Feb. 12, 12:00 Noon

Philadelphia
WHERE: CVS store at intersection of Broad and Girard
WHEN: Thursday, Feb. 12, 12:00 Noon

Los Angeles
WHERE: CVS store at 4345 W. Century Blvd., Inglewood, CA 90304
WHEN: Thursday, Feb. 12, 4 PM - 6 PM, PST.

If you can't join us in person, you can still help spread the word about CVS's unfair condom policies. Download a "Have a Heart - Unlock the Condoms" Valentine to send to friends or post on your blog. You can also join the cause on Facebook, and be sure to join our mailing list, too.

Posted by Alex G. on February 10, 2009 3:57 PM

Tell CVS: Have a Heart, Unlock the Condoms!

This Valentine's Day, in CVS stores across the country, condoms are locked behind glass cases. To buy condoms at these stores, shoppers must request assistance from a CVS clerk, who will monitor the shopper's selection and then lock the case behind them.

Public health advocates have criticized CVS's locked condom cases, saying they create a barrier which could decrease condom use. But even more worrisome than the retailer's practice of locking condoms is where those locked cases are located: locked condoms have been found disproportionately in minority areas.

Speak out against this practice: tell CVS to have a heart and unlock the condoms by signing our petition:

http://changetowinaction.org/campaign/unlock_the_condoms

CVS's closest competitors have policies against locking condom cases - it's time CVS do the same.

Posted by Alex G. on February 10, 2009 11:52 AM