Called snakecondoms.com. au, it has been designed to educate Aboriginal teenagers on key issues of sexual health, drug and alcohol use.

The site also promotes “Snake Condoms” which are available in the in colours of the Aboriginal flag – red, yellow and black – and are flavoured chocolate, vanilla and strawberry.

“At a time when sexually transmitted infection (STI) rates are at an all-time high, there is an alarming lack of access to contraceptive information and services in Indigenous communities,” Bev Greet, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Island program manager for Marie Stopes Australia, said at the website launch.

“The geographic isolation of many Aboriginal communities further adds to these access issues, resulting in teens having limited knowledge concerning STIs, as well as a number of misunderstandings about contraception.

“The SNAKE Condoms website has been developed to equip teens with the information they need to make the right choices at the right time, with the end goal of reducing the rates of STIs and teenage pregnancy.”

Developed, written and designed in consultation with Aboriginal youth, the website features information on STIs, teenage pregnancy, contraception, and drug and alcohol usage. Teens can find out where there nearest sexual health centre is and how they can obtain contraception.

Bev Greet – who is Aboriginal and was diagnosed as HIV positive 24 years ago – said the high HIV and STI rates in the indigenous communities further reinforced the need for culturally appropriate, easily accessible sexual health resources.

“In 2006, there were approximately 10 newly diagnosed HIV infections per 100,000 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders residing in major cities, and only 6 per 100,000 non-Indigenous,” she said.

“To add to this, among Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people residing in remote areas in the Northern Territory, South Australia, Victoria and Western Australia, the rate of diagnosis of Chlamydia was almost 13 times that of non-Indigenous people.²