Female Condoms Pushed in DC to Fight HIV

Community groups are handing out 500,000 of the female condoms, flexible pouches that are wider than a male condom but similar in length, during instruction sessions at beauty salons, barber shops, churches and restaurants.

CVS is selling them in all its District of Columbia drugstores - though sales so far are slow - making Washington the only place where people can get them outside a health clinic or community group. And city officials are starting another promotion: a website and posters on 460 buses, about a third of the city's fleet.

Theresa Exner, a research scientist who has done work on the female condom, said officials have a tough but not insurmountable task. Using the female condom can be tricky, but studies suggest that promoting the female condom alongside the male condom increases overall use.

"There's all kinds of positive aspects of the female condom. The trick is educating people sufficiently that people can feel confident that it's something they can use," said Exner, who works at the HIV Center for Clinical and Behavioral Studies at the New York State Psychiatric Institute and Columbia University.

See more at CBS News.