TATA Motors have recently started manufacturing condoms.
Confused?
Long-distance truckers are a particularly vulnerable group for HIV in India. As many truck drivers do not practice safe sex, they contract the deadly infection during their journeys, often from sex workers, and spread it unknowingly to others across the country. Around 2.59% of truckers carry the virus, compared to just 0.26% of the general population.
Hoping to promote safe sex practices, India’s largest truck maker Tata Motors created a condom label called ‘Dipper’, named after a safety warning that is painted on the backs of millions of Indian trucks. It’s a phrase that resonates with the drivers, as does the colorful packaging that mirrors the painted designs that appear on their trucks. Both correlate trucking and responsible sexual behavior.
It’s clear that the strategy of blending a catchy approach to communicate a serious message and correlating a practical approach to safe sex is working. The first batch of Dipper condoms, made available at locations frequented by truckers such as petrol pumps, dhabas, and puncture centers, sold out quickly, and now there is a huge demand for more.
In a country where sex is still widely a taboo subject, it’s refreshing to see an initiative that addresses the need for safe sex, and to see evidence of a change in attitude regarding sexual health and safety. It’s a remarkable achievement, one that hopefully drives forward a new sensibility emerging in contemporary India.
For more information, watch this video on the campaign.
Words by Pavi Sagar
Featured image source: The Economic Times
