Philadelphia NOW protests CVS practice of practice of locking up condoms, especially in low-income neighborhoods and communities of color

Tom Ryan
C.E.O.
CVS Caremark Corporation
One CVS Drive
Woonsocket, RI 02895

Dear Mr. Ryan,
The Philadelphia chapter of the National Organization for Women is part of a national coalition of community organizations, health care educators and advocates. We believe the practice of locking up condoms, especially in low-income neighborhoods and communities of color, is both short-sighted and dangerous.
On February 12th, organizations in New York, Boston, Philadelphia, and Los Angeles called on CVS to unlock condoms in all communities. We are very happy that your corporation has taken a positive first step by unlocking condoms in its Philadelphia and Boston stores. However, it is crucial that this same access be provided to consumers in all cities and in all communities.
We urge CVS to put the health of our communities first and adopt a written policy that ensures condoms are permanently unlocked in all communities across the country, regardless of race.
Please consider the following staggering statistics, evidence of the public health crisis our communities face:
• Nationwide, HIV/AIDS is the No. 1 killer of black American women between 25 and 34. And rates (of infection) for Hispanic women nationally are four times those of white women, while rates for black women are 15 times those of white women.
• Over the past decade, gay men and other men who have sex with men face rising rates of HIV infection, with the highest rates in young black gay and bisexual men. Nearly half - 46% - of Black gay and bisexual men are believed to already be infected.
• A sexually active teenager who doesn't use contraceptives has a 90% chance of becoming pregnant within one year, and approximately 750,000 teens become pregnant each year.
• Every year 3 million teens acquire an STD.
Clearly we cannot afford to stigmatize or limit access to condoms, creating unnecessary barriers to safe-sex practices. Your closest competitor, Walgreens, has a policy against locking up condoms in any of its stores. We hope that you will follow Walgreens’ lead in promoting better health practices in all communities.
We stand with communities across the country in saying “Cure CVS Now!” We will continue to keep a watchful eye on CVS and its role in providing care to our communities.
Sincerely,

Karen Bojar
President, Philadephia chapter of the National Organization for Women.