Durex calls for emoji use to increase awareness of safe sex ahead of World AIDS Day

Global sexual well-being brand Durex on Monday launched “Umbrella with Raindrops” as the unofficial safe sex emoji ahead of World AIDS Day on December 1. The unveiling of an unofficial safe sex emoji is the latest move in Durex’s ongoing #CondomEmoji campaign which calls for putting a safe sex emoji on every smartphone in order to help young people communicate about safe sex, the company said in a statement. A YouTube video was also released for the same.

“We believe the naming of “Umbrella with Raindrops” as the unofficial safe sex emoji will be a significant step towards helping young people put safe sex back on the agenda,” said Volker Sydow, Global Director, Durex. The #CondomEmoji campaign has trended both on Twitter and Facebook with supporters from over one hundred and sixty countries backing the movement during a survey. A young person is infected with HIV every ten seconds, and nine out of ten surveyed believed that an emoji would help them broach the subject of safe sex. More than seventy five percent of those surveyed between sixteen to thirty five years old admitted to using emoji to discuss sex. [caption id=“attachment_350105” align=“aligncenter” width=“640”]  Image: Durex[/caption] Fifty percent of the people in the sixteen to thirty five years age group believed that HIV was something that would never affect them. Over sixty percent of the young people surveyed admitted that they were uncomfortable talking about the subject. Durex called for an increase in sharing, discussions and engagement with the issue to spread awareness. “While more than sixty percent of young people surveyed admitted to being uncomfortable discussing safe sex, seventy two per cent of respondents admitted that they found it easier to express emotions using emojis and more than three quarters admitted that they use emojis to discuss sex and relationships,” the survey findings noted. With inputs from IANS