Saskatoon Sexual Health, along with community partners, recently unveiled new designs for their #WrapItUpSK campaign — placing jokes on condom wrappers in Cree, Dene, Michif and English to market safe sex to northern Saskatchewan.

SSH is a community organization that provides sexual and reproductive health services. They place emphasis on safe, inclusive and empowering care and education, with a goal to promote healthy and informed sexualities.

Saskatoon Sexual Health makes strides to destigmatize safe sex.

#WrapItUpSK is an educational campaign that began in Oct. 2016. The first condoms included humorous slogans for cities and towns in southern Saskatchewan.

To launch the campaign, SSH partnered with the Saskatchewan Prevention Institute, AIDS Saskatoon and Territorial, a Saskatoon-based design company. The campaign as a whole aims to promote safe sex in the province of Saskatchewan with readily available and eye-catching supplies and information.

You might have seen condoms featuring clever plays on words, such as “Climax please come again” and “Saskatoon wanna spoon?” in many of your favourite spots around the community, and you probably grabbed a handful to show your friends.

And just by altering and refreshing their humour, SSH solidifies their stake in challenging greater issues in our province.

Saskatchewan leads the nation in HIV rates — the number of cases here is currently two times higher than the national rate — and there is a high rate of sexually transmitted infections in the province.

Information is an incredibly powerful resource, and SSH is on target, not only to help destigmatize sex but also to facilitate better discussions about healthy sex and protection.

More powerful, however, is the push to make these resources equally accessible to all. There are costs associated with accessing safe sex supplies, and SSH aims to partially alleviate that unnecessary barrier by distributing products like the #WrapItUpSK condoms for free.

Further extending their reach into northern communities is a logical step. As for freshening up the brand, it’s a welcome change.

The new slogans were chosen by youth from northern Saskatchewan — they say things likes “Snagging Season” and “PIHTIKWE” — which means “come in.”

The #WrapItUpSK campaign sent 100,000 condoms  for     distribution within 47 northern Saskatchewan communities.

Get funky, cover your monkey and be thankful for great community organizations that promote healthy sex everywhere.

You can pick up your own quirky plastic socks from SSH at 210 Second Avenue North in Saskatoon. Condoms are also available at locations around the city, including OUTSaskatoon, Westside Community Clinic and the Colonial Pub & Grill.

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Emily Migchels / Opinions Editor

Photos: Zac Walters