It’s the day before the most romantic night of the year and students at Panyapiwat Technological College in Bangkok’s Ngam Wong Wan district are lining up to take their chances in “Friendly Corner”.
The main attraction at the sex education booth is a fairground-style game, where young people attempt to throw a ball into a hanging plastic cup. The prize for those who succeed is a T-shirt and a free condom. Friendly Corner is part of a two-day event to promote safe sex, initiated by the school’s counsellor Supanee Semsukkree, the Parenthood Planning Association of Thailand and the National Health Security Office.
The college caters to students aged 16-18, and students of both sexes can participate in the ball game without feeling intimidated. Ms Supanee assigns staff and volunteer students to distribute the giveaways in a casual manner.
"This is an academic exhibition and the game at the booth is just for fun," she said. "However, we want the students to take part, or just come by, so they can get the free condoms without making a big deal out of it.
"Our goal is to normalise the process of young people obtaining condoms as a means to responsible and protected sex."
The booth also features a rubber sex toy. Atiwan Duriyanon, another school counsellor, demonstrated the correct technique for using a condom.
“We estimate that 70% of our students might experience a sexual encounter on Valentine’s Day so we want them to do it responsibly,” Mr Atiwan said.
“My biggest concern is for the first-year students, especially the female ones. If they experience unsafe sex, the pregnancy that might follow could lead to the end of their student life."
In 2011, there were 43 teen pregnancies at Panyapiwat, followed by 44 the following year. Ms Supanee launched a scheme to distribute free condoms in 2012. By 2013, teen pregnancies had almost halved to 23.
The free condoms are supplied by the Parenthood Planning Association. All students are able to obtain them by approaching a counsellor. Rather than just handing over the contraception, the counsellors ask the students serious questions about their sexual experiences.
The counsellor then has the responsibility of advising and guiding the student on sexual health matters, such as HIV/Aids prevention, all year round.
At Friendly Corner, a 17-year-old male student picks up his free condoms from the booth. He insists he won’t be using them any time soon — particularly not on Valentine’s Day. But he appreciates the fact they are being given out.
“I think it’s a good thing to get them for free,” he said. “It makes it easy for us because we won’t have to buy them ourselves.”
The male students getting involved at Friendly Corner outnumber their female counterparts. Many of the girls finish the ball-throwing game but refuse the free condoms, and back away quickly with their group of friends.
The male students take the condoms and hastily stuff them in their pockets.
The booth is staffed by both male and female counsellors, so students have a choice of who to ask for advice.
The counsellors have a friendly rapport with students, but do not hesitate to broach the topic of sex with some of the male students who come back a second time for extra supplies.
The exhibition saw almost 400 condoms given out to the college’s 1,800 students.
Government authorities meanwhile focused their Valentine’s Day efforts on trying to prevent young people from engaging in premature sex, with the Culture Ministry last week unveiling its “#Dinneronly” campaign to promote non-sexual activities.
Mr Atiwan urged a realistic approach to the issue, saying that what young people do is beyond the control of state authorities.
“We have to admit that teens do not usually just have dinner,” he said. “It’s better to be one step ahead of that to prevent unwanted pregnancy and diseases.”