Ever since the Boy Scouts of America have taken the heat for allowing girls and transgenders to join among their ranks in 2017, the organization which will soon be known as the Scouts BSA has decided to initiate one more groundbreaking move – to have condoms be "readily and easily accessible" at the 2019 World Scout Jamboree.
It wasn't until recently that the guidelines previously drafted after the 2015 Jamboree in Japan were emailed to members, saying, "The host organisation must ensure that condoms are readily and easily accessible for all participants and IST at a number of locations on the site."
Backlash from conservatives were rampant. Florida Family Policy Council president John Stemberger admonished the new policy in an interview with Charisma News.
In light of the mandatory condom policy, it is not clear how far down the rabbit hole the Boy Scouts will continue to fall. With the addition of condoms and alcohol, the World Jamboree is starting to sound more like a 1960s Woodstock festival rather than a campout that parents would want to send their children to!
Turns out that conservatives were misreading the headlines. Some sensible fact-checking proved that the vitriolic backlash was a tad absurd.
Those who were confused wanted clarification on the veracity of the racy initiative and wondered if condoms will actually be distributed among participants at the upcoming 24th Scouts' World Jamboree in West Virginia taking place from July 21 to August 1, 2019.
Snopes clarified the misleading policy.
The availability of condoms was put in place by the World Organization of the Scout Movement, not the Boy Scouts of America. The event will be planned in accordance with the requirements and guidelines of the global organization, and because male and female attendees will come from all over the world, condoms will be available through medical facilities, not physically distributed among participants as conservatives feared.
The 2019 West Virginia Jamboree wouldn't be the first time condoms were available at a Scouts outing. A 2011 handbook from an event in Sweden promoted safe sex and had condoms made available at the health center.
WOSM's official policy dates back to 2002 when they released this statement:
It is the policy of the World Organization of the Scout Movement, which is the authority responsible for the World Scout Jamboree, to have condoms freely available in each health centre of the event for any participant that makes this request.
While condoms are not distributed directly to participants at activities during World Scout Jamboree, condoms are still made available as part of the youth-friendly services offered at the health centre and in line with the international best practices recommended by the United Nations.
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