What is the Kumita campaign?
Kumita is funded by the ministry of social affairs and health. It’s an educational campaign by Väestöliitto for middle-school aged teenagers.
Why this campaign?
Half of Finnish teenagers have had their first sexual experience by the time they turn seventeen. That is why it’s important to tell young people about prevention well in advance. The campaign is intended to elaborate in a positive way on using condoms as a way of preventing sexually transmitted diseases.
The campaign is not meant to replace schools’ sexual education nor diminish the role of parents. Every teenager absorbs information in their own way, so it’s important to have different ways of educating and upbringing.
The campaign is aimed at refuting some common myths surrounding the condom. Through the campaign, teenagers learn to be more relaxed about condoms, to think about condoms as trusted basics that teenagers should always keep with them.
The number of sexually transmitted diseases among teenagers has remained stable, even though teenage pregnancies have decreased during the last few years. According to a school health survey, about one in five middle-school aged teenagers did not use any kind of prevention the last time they had sexual intercourse. Talking about sexuality, sex and prevention neither instigates risky behaviour in young people nor triggers premature sexual activity. Receiving the appropriate information helps teenagers to take care of themselves and to avoid risks.
Read: How do you talk about sex and prevention to your teenager?
Who is behind Kumita?
The Kumita campaign is the product of sexual health experts from Väestöliitto. The campaign material is based on many years’ experience in working with customers, as well as on research done among youth and adolescents. The ideology behind the campaign comprises the WHO’s joint European guidelines on sexual education, knowledge on adolescents’ psychophysical and sexual development, and sexual rights.
How does Kumita work?
There are various obstacles associated with purchasing and using condoms. Kumita aims to remove these obstacles and enhance the image of the condom. The goal with Kumita is to make it easier for young people to familiarize themselves with condoms. The campaign also engcourages making it basic practise to buy and use condoms as part of taking care of oneself. The campaign respects the fact that teenagers develop at their own pace and it doesn’t infringe on this. Most young people are interested in matters regarding sex long before they have their first sexual experience. It’s important, that they are given expert information and that this is provided in a safe way. Kumita’s material incorporates humour as a way of making it easier for people to approach new, possibly even unsettling and exciting issues.