Safer sex week 2017 ................

The National Family Planning Board Sexual and Reproductive Health Agency (NFPB-SRHA) hopes to make sex even safer this Valentine’s Day during their annual observance of Safer Sex Week from February 12 to 18.

To commemorate Safer Sex Week, the agency will be hosting a Health Fair tomorrow, Valentine’s Day, at the Prison Oval in Spanish Town, St Catherine, at which the public will have access to family planning methods, including condoms, free HIV testing, and other health checks and Valentine’s Day treats.

The theme for this year’s observance is “Condom + Another Contraceptive = #UltimateProtection”, which underscores the agency’s push for dual contraceptive use. Condoms are an effective method to protect against pregnancy, HIV and other STIs, but according to the NFPB-SRHA, it is always best to have a back-up method such as the pill, the injection or an intra-uterine device.

Regrettably, Jamaicans, particularly those within the 15-29 age group, are not practising safe sex every time. This is evident in the latest data in the 2016 UNAIDS Prevention Gap Report which found that the highest increase of new HIV infections is within that age group, the agency said. Additionally, one per cent of all live births in Jamaica are to adolescent girls, many of whom reported that their pregnancy was either mistimed or unwanted.

To address this trend, the agency is imploring Jamaicans to ensure that they, and their partners, are fully protected before engaging in sex, and as a result, the activities planned for Safer Sex Week are aimed at increasing dual method use for all ages.

The health fair will feature performances by the Jamaica Cultural Development Commission and will be hosted by comedian Christopher “Johnny” Daley. This will be the first official activity as the NFPB-SRHA celebrates its 50th anniversary in 2017.

But as usual the business of anal sex between consenting gay adults is quietly slid under the radar so as not to avoid any noise from fanatical religious voices; while the NFPB and others seem to want an overflow of the messaging to gay men to come from heteronormatively tinged social marketing efforts.

Sad that this is the nonsense that still obtains and with the talk sometimes openly by more younger gay men in practising bareback sex as it is seen seemingly to be more attractive given the proliferation of gay porn which tacitly legitimizes it. 

also see:

No gays allowed at freaky party with one sided bi-erasue by The National Family Planning Board (NFPB)

Sex-ed does not say have sex — NFPB head

But the same NFPB folks as indicated in the post above showed up their lack of understanding in a sense on the issues of MSM sex, risk and a refusal on the face of it to engage bisexual persons who may have wanted to attend the planned freaky party then.

In the meantime I want to encourage persons to go get tested if one is engaged in; barebacking is a challenge though tempting and although we don't see folks suffering via visible AIDS related/opportunistic infections anymore complacency might be an issue not properly addressed with the millennials and younger.

Peace & tolerance

H

Male birth control could make us infertile!

Jamaican men claim - Male birth control could make us infertile.

Researchers in the United Kingdom have come up with what they have dubbed the 'male pill', an equivalent to female contraceptives, where doctors inject a gel-like substance into the sperm duct to prevent sperm form escaping and getting a woman pregnant.

However, the Jamaican men who spoke with THE WEEKEND STAR said there is no way they would undergo the procedure, which is expected to hit markets by 2018.

"No injection thing inna no balls! Me will gwaan use the condom, and when me ready me take it off. That sound weird. Suppose them give me the injection and it 'sheg' up me system?," Robert Matterson, a 37-year-old father of one, questioned.

According to the Parsemus Foundation, which is developing the drug called Vasagel, the product works by having a doctor inject a gel into the vas deferens (the tube the sperm swim through), rather than cutting the vas (as is done in vasectomy). If a man wishes to restore flow of sperm, whether after months or years, the gel is flushed out of the vas with another injection.

Sexually transmitted diseases

But none of the advantages were compelling enough to convince Jamaican men to warm up to the new technology.

"What about sexually transmitted diseases? It doesn't prevent against that, so it wouldn't make sense. Even if a one woman me have, mi no trust her 100 per cent say she nah go cheat and catch something then give me," said 38-year-old Wayne Fearon.

Calda Wint, 55, who has one daughter, said he believes the male contraceptive is a good idea for men who already have a lot of children and those who cannot afford children. However, he said he would not use Vasagel because he fears that it might have long term negative implications.

Meanwhile, Steve Knowles said he believes those products are for women.

"A woman alone fi take dem things deh, trust me. Just like how dem a change you sex and man a have baby, then them come with this," he said.

Despite all the naysayers, Dr Vernon DaCosta, who heads the Fertility Management Unit at the University of the West Indies, said he believes there is a market for such a product in Jamaica, but there is not enough funding to support research in the field.

"If the government promotes it, I think there would be a market for it here. But to fund research, we would need about five to 10 million dollars per year, and that's US dollars I'm talking about," DaCosta said.

Vasalgel was inspired by the work on a polymer contraceptive called RISUG®, which is in advanced clinical trials in India; some of the men have been using RISUG® for more than 15 years. But right now, only local men near the study sites in India are eligible for the trials, and formal reversibility studies have only been done in animals, not men.

In early 2010, Parsemus Foundation began developing a polymer contraceptive for the rest of the world outside India. The new polymer contraceptive is called Vasalgel™, and 12 months of rabbit studies have shown no sperm from the second semen sample onwards! Sperm flow quickly returned in rabbits that had the polymer flushed out. The goal is to have it on the market as an alternative to vasectomy as soon as possible, with the first clinical trial expected to begin in 2016.

Vasalgel is being developed by the foundation as a “social venture,” a company that makes enough money to stay afloat but not to make anybody rich, with affordable pricing and wide availability as its mandate. The social venture company within the foundation is moving fast on getting the first steps done; however, it won’t have enough money to finish the project, and has conducted fundraising campaigns which have helped to support the nonhuman primate studies that will be concluded by the end of 2015.

Want to see Vasalgel make it to market? Since long-term methods aren’t a big money-maker (it’s a lot more profitable to sell pills to men’s partners every month), big pharma isn’t interested– so we’re relying on public support. With over 20,000 men and women waiting to hear about clinical trials, even $5 or $10 each will fund the preclinical studies (the animal research needed before human trials). Here’s how you can get involved:

Man charged for assault of gay prisoner

A matter recently involving an alleged gay inmate at a medium security facility came to light in July as another inmate accused of assault was slapped with a charge after he attacked the victim for being gay. The remand centre a place I am all too familiar with during my own incarceration there in 1996 for of all things alleged buggery was reportedly the scene of a brawl involving a gay man accused of looking too long at other men having their morning shower in the open bathing stalls. I recall another incident during my time there of a man who was kicked in the face by inmates who claimed he was too fixed staring on them owing to the fact that many persons only wore underpants or boxers which displayed penis prints which obviously would attract any gay man’s attention.

During the daily routines where prisoners with minor charges are allowed to take their showers supposedly under supervision to avoid fights and such (do not drop your soap either as you may be accused of being gay) the accused gay man was also waiting in line to have his shower prior to breakfast serving. In what amounted to a cellblock shanking he was accused of watching the other male prisoners for too long taking their showers albeit in their underpants as is customary. Persons do not bathe in the nude as that is considered to be an invitation to gays and one  can be also accused of being gay as well.

The main protagonist said he noticed the attention being placed by the victim on himself as he lathered or soaped himself up before washing off. He wondered out aloud why the gay prisoner was staring at him for so long and proceeded to accuse him of being a battyman. Such charges even if they are not true tend to stick once made especially very loudly and consistently by the accuser. This is not the first time such allegations have been made by other inmates to fellow ones as it is often used to intimidate persons or belittle others in the alpha male struggle for dominance or power in such settings. The man was attacked by the accuser and others who cornered him and eventually pushed him away from the shower line so as to avoid him supposedly having anymore viewing capabilities. He was subsequently slapped up and assaulted by other men who left a mark on his right hand as he tried to block some of the attacks.

The matter was reported to the block supervisor as things got louder when other prisoners with more serious crimes who were still on lock down supposedly wanted a ‘piece’ of him. Shower time usually consists of lesser crime charged inmates bathing first then hardened ones coming after. The cops arrived as the facility does not have warders like other maximum security structures do, the chief protagonist was pointed out alongside the man who inflicted the wound on his hand, it was he who was charged with the assault while the other prisoners were warned not to let this happen again. Some prisoners were upset that the police seemed more concerned about protecting gays (battyman) than bashing them as is expected to be normative. The matter was brought up in parish court on the same day as the ongoing matter that was scheduled to be dealt with. When asked by the judge reportedly as to why he attacked the man the accused said he did not like gays and that the man was looking at him too much as he showered.

There have been other challenges similar to this one at other lockups and maximum security facilities as more and more gays find themselves in trouble with the law. A gay lotto scammer for example in April who was being pressured to pay some sort of extortion fee in exchange for protection was allegedly beaten while in custody by inmates as his bleached looked and tattoos were said to be too feminine looking and that he was ‘mean’

There was a stabbing incident in 2015 of an inmate who was accused of being gay despite he was in the slammer for wounding with intent, a fight had occurred with a cellmate who insisted he should have been put to another cell as he was not prepared to share that space with a ‘fish’ (derogatory colloquial term for gay man), the victim apparently was too masculine for his abuse and both ended up in a fight which led to the stabbing as the outcome on the hand of the victim via a ‘dog’ (cellblock term for a poniard or makeshift pointed device) the man was also charged but the outcome of that case is unknown while the victim was released from the facility as he served his time for the previous charge(s).

There is the business of cell slavery as it were where prospective slaveholders will sometimes use intimidating innuendo, as opposed to overt threats of violence, which the prospective slave unwillingly accepts, thereby disguising the coercive nature of the sexual activity from even the enslaver. Slaves might not even see themselves as being coerced, if the enslavement is negotiated as repayment for a debt o sex for favours or 'gay for the stay' phenomenon. Also, some consider themselves transformed into a homosexual. There have been unofficial accounts in which an inmate is coerced in this way. It is however argued by some experts that in prison, consent is inherently illusory.

It can be a tough ride in jail or prison speaking from experience and one has to be very observant and whistle and ride as it were just for survival sake. A simple allegation can lead to all kinds of problems as one serves time or is in remand. Lest we forget the mass murders in the 1997 prison riots with several persons who were killed not being gay but by mere accusations coupled with the febrile environment linked to the call by some to distribute condoms in prisons. Other smaller riots have had outcomes similar to that of 1997 such as one at the general penitentiary, GP which has a reputation of housing and having more homosexuals than other facilities (the ‘Kid Ralph’ character comes to mind) 1980s riots. Old feuds, rival inmates and gangs used the 1997 furore to label each other as suspected gays and as cell block shankings always become they give justifications for abuse and killings in some instances. Substitutional sex is a subject also that no one seems to want to touch as it does happen in our lockups, either by extended incarceration or bisexuality or other reasons men do get involved sexually with other men but may not go all the way to anal sex as that is still seen in the eyes of some as abhorrent. So oral sex or intercrural sex are the more preferred options.

Intercrural sex is the placing of an erect penis between the legs of the intended passive partner to fake the feeling of vaginal or anal penetration while other sexual play is restricted so as kissing and such as those are seen as too cuddling or effeminate driven. The psychology suggests that the fantasy of the persons involved is for a woman but the situation is only a means to an end very physical contact with very strict rules of engagement.

Peace & tolerance

H

also see:

Buggery Accused Tried to Commit Suicide in Lockup 

Another phone in body cavity story .. the third in succession, what's up Star News? 2011

Should prisoners get conjugal visits? 

Situational Homosexuality or Behavioral Bisexuality 2009


Inmate attacks alleged gay prisoner 2014


Review condom policy for prisoners ........ 2011

Do Prisoners Have a Right to Condoms? ...... 2011

Male Rape .... nobody wants to talk about it

Early initiation, gay sex, comprehensive sexual education and the real world

As antigay groups such as the Jamaica Coalition for a Healthy Society in particular continue to latch on to anything they can find so as to oppose homosexuality as it were, we now see comprehensive sexual education becoming the latest target as they prey on the ignorance and fears of the masses. We saw a similar set of fear, paranoia and nonsense that flowed with the Home & Family Life Education HFLE manual some year ago so much so that the Minister of Education at the time Reverend Ronnie Thwaites played to the gallery and claimed the important manual where only one page with a set of important questions on sexuality and the ‘awful’ word homosexuality and anal sex were expunged and a new sanitized version released.

The matter came up for mention again this morning on Power 106FM where Thwaites has returned as radio show host and he went on and on about the parents and teachers in schools and the recent GSAT examinations passes and the recently made comments by him on CVM TV also came through as to grooming. Sometimes I wonder if Thwaites and others like him in thinking are feeling-less or never had urges or experimented with some sort of sexual desires?

Despite the experts’ advice that teaching about sex in a carefully done manner does not necessarily cause children to go simply do it; and it makes one wonder sometimes if these same persons as paranoid adults were not young once or played ‘dollyhouse’ and the little rude things that attended no sooner than our parents our guardians turned their backs. The cooled rainbow flag brou ha ha has been tied into the ever growing pile of impositions in the eyes of ever frightened antigay groups in their continued moral panic; thankfully more and more Jamaicans are coming to their senses if ever so slowly (wish it was faster) that the seeming obsession with gays is too much; even as other societal issues abound. Such sentiments were expressed on the Seventh Day Adventist run radio station NCU FM Sunday call in show Pressing Matters hosted by Dennis Chung in Mandeville. The rainbow flag and the commission of inquiry report took up most of the show but the clear separation of selective religious voices came through which I found interesting. Some callers asked where are these groups on corruption and such and yet they are so transfixed on gays?

Meanwhile what is ironic is that many persons may have passed the flag at the US Embassy at Hope Road prior to Mrs Forte’s tweet-faux pas I bet did not know what the flag meant until this controversy, so the good that can come out of this it is a teaching moment for us LGBT voices included who know the flag is for LGBT but do not know the history of it.

In a television interview on CVM TV on June 14, 2016 when asked after a public where the Prime Minister Andrew Holness expressed support to the families impacted by the Orlando Pulse gay club shooting Thwaites said that the flying of a rainbow flag at the US Embassy is effectively grooming children into “a particular lifestyle that is different from the Judaeo Christian norm which is in fact the foundation of our constitutional order and I believe of our personal and national health...... ”

NATIONAL Family Planning Board (NFPB) Executive Director Dr Denise Chevannes-Vogel has said that exposing adolescents to information on sexual reproductive health will not drive them to have sex if they are not already sexually active. Speaking at an HIV forum at Knutsford Court Hotel in St Andrew on Monday, Dr Chevannes-Vogel came out in full support of Comprehensive Sexuality Education, which has come under recent scrutiny after concerns were raised about the infiltration of the philosophy into the education system.

Dr Chevannes-Vogel called for “frank conversations” which, evidenced by the loud applause, got the nod from the audience. Though the forum — which was held under the theme ‘Health for All: Putting Youth and Adolescents at the Heart of the HIV Response’ — sought to raise awareness about adolescent and youth-specific issues in the response to HIV and AIDS, Dr Chevannes-Vogel moved to broaden the theme to put youth at the centre of a comprehensive sexual reproductive health response and sustainable national development.

“When we look at the correlation between good, optimum, sexual reproductive health and sustainable national development, the linkage is clear,” she stated. “And as a matter of fact, that was part of the basis of the integration of HIV and sexual reproductive health; they share common drivers — the gender inequalities, the cultural attitudes, the poverty, the unemployment, gender-based violence, sexual violence, incest.”

In May, Education Minister Ruel Reid met with representatives of the Jamaica Coalition for a Healthy Society to hear their concerns and made it clear that the education ministry’s philosophical position is that gender is fixed as male and female. So the new Education minister is already showing where he is going on this which seems nowhere as he too is playing to the gallery. The orgy incident recently at Coreville Gardens of some 14 students came to mind as well as instead of gathering the obvious misguided teens to start some sustained intervention in counselling they were arrested of all things; what a lovely way to start to foster even more rebellion than already exists with teens as we once were. We wanted some independence as teens lest we forget at some point in our lives. Even though some involved were below the age of consent of 16 they were no adults found in their company which means this was a group arrangement. Careful handling such have been employed instead to the alleged verbal abuse by onlookers the teens were escorted to the waiting police vehicles.

Another incident in St Catherine at a high school where two male teens were caught in a compromising position in what has been surmised as a partnered masturbation session; both boys were described as showing each other their erect penises and touching each other, a mob eventually came down on them as other students created an alarm and gave chase. Early initiation is something that has not been adequately looked at it seems on the face of it and relying on punishment or condemnation simply because teens or even kids were caught in the act is not the way to go; that would only force them into more secrecy. With social media becoming so pronounced in our lives the proliferation of sex tapes or what were supposed to be private tapes going public is another example of what we are up against.

An old case of an obsessed male teen at a co-ed Kingston school who liked his male teacher and sought to also express his sexual desire came through which caused some trouble in 2011 finally ended some time ago; the young man was exposed to sustained counselling and getting the parents involved after much police intervention as well as the teen attempted to blackmail in a sense the teacher. The teacher almost missed a buggery charge guilty findings as more and more details came out in court while some of the cops involved have changed their stance as the facts came through. The matter has been adjourned but the teen via his mother may have to answer some sort of false accusations charges dependent on the original accused pursuit to press such charges. Our teens are way more sexually active it seems to me than my generation or generations prior. But with quibbling antigay groups and misguided thinking while the field grows the horse starves. Our education system is missing the urgently needed sex & sexuality properly prepared and age appropriate to be rolled out despite the fears being expressed by ignoramuses and leaders make bold decisions while not playing to the gallery from veiled threats.

While abstinence is also a good avenue as an option especially for HIV interventions as a part of the cadre of options we must get real, not in a world where teens are bombarded with sexualised messaging of some kind. The trick is to empower adolescents in taking up other options such as extra-curricular activities while providing adequate age appropriate information. Besides if we think as some antigay groups do by sanitizing sexuality that will stop teens from getting it elsewhere namely social media and dancehall artists who provide a misogynistic lessons in song and videos. How does one compete with all the distractions that are around these days? Yet antigay groups are living in the dark and are so behind the times.

Think on these things

Peace & tolerance

H

also see:

Urgent need for sex & sexuality to be discussed nationally 2012

Sexual Development through the Life Cycle ......2003

Livin' in a world they did not make: A second student rescued from homophobic attack at school 2011

Father beats son on suspicion of being a homosexual 2014

also see from sister blog GLBTQJA 2009: Insensitive Parents & Displaced MSM and Part 2 HERE

Teen forced to change schools following outing incident 2014

Student gay sex video causes a stir in central Jamaica 2014

Thwaites: Ministry alone cannot deal with homosexuality

Education Minister dismisses counsellors LGBT students issue, says it’s a 'minority' matter

Insensitive parents & Displaced MSM 2009

Ronnie Thwaites’ rubbish on flying rainbow flags grooms children into “particular lifestyle” 2016

Sodomy is an Issue for Teens says Jamaicans for Justice Interim Chairman

As Jamaicans for Justice settles itself and the pending police investigations which to me is going too far in a witch hunt to punish someone continue the interim chairman has spoken again on the issue of sodomy, early initiation and youngsters as highlighted in today's Gleaner below. He had spoken to it in a radio interview in a previous post on this blog via RJR's Beyond The Headlines.

See that post here: Jamaicans for Justice Slowly Recovers & Appoints an Interim Board

Ryon Jones, Staff Reporter today reports:

Dr Barry Wade, the interim chairman of Jamaicans for Justice (JFJ), has declared that a controversial education programme introduced in six private children's homes by the under-fire human rights lobby was justified, arguing that many of the nation's children are being exposed to anal sex.

"A lot of the children in Jamaica are sodomised. That's the reality," Wade told The Sunday Gleaner shortly after his appointment was announced last week.

"What we were doing was helping the children with how to deal with it; first of all, how to avoid it, then how to report it in instances of it happening, and how to manage themselves in a sexually safe and sound way."

Copies of the course outline obtained by The Sunday Gleaner showed where the wards at these homes were taught that "vaginal sex, anal sex and oral sex are forms of sexual penetration".

actual slides from the instructor's version of the JFJ manual (not included in the article) 

The course outline went on to state: "Anal and oral sex have traditionally been frowned upon, but with time, these practices are becoming more accepted."

The children were urged to "use a condom and lubricant during anal sex" to protect themselves against HIV and other sexually transmitted infections.

Despite Wade's utterances, chairman of the Jamaica Coalition for a Healthy Society, Dr Wayne West, believes information of that nature should not have been included in a course geared towards children.

"I would suggest that probably the more important thing is to make people aware of the risk and of the harm that persons who seek to do that to them are in fact doing to them, both physically and psychologically," West said.

"Sodomising children is a criminal offence, and if you are seeking to protect them, you seek not to make it safe, but tell them how to bring the perpetrators to justice. But I am not hearing Jamaicans for Justice doing that."

The sex-education programme, which started in the homes in October 2013 and wrapped up earlier this year, saw children as young as 11 years old being taught about what many consider controversial alternative sexual practices.

An interim report by the Child Development Agency (CDA) stated that a review of the content of the JFJ training programme found that sections were "inappropriate for the age cohort and a departure from that approved by the Ministry of Education for use in public schools".

NECESSARY COURSE

But Wade, who was last Tuesday co-opted as chairman of a provisional 10-member board, believes the type of information the children were exposed to was necessary.

"The youngsters who we were engaging with, many of them were already sexually active, and that is a problem in many of the children's homes. These children - willingly or unwillingly - are being exposed to these things," Wade argued. "The purpose of the programme was to indicate to them that these things were there, how they could handle it, and how they could protect themselves in such situations. They weren't being introduced to something that they either had no knowledge of or that was outside of the so-called Jamaican culture. This is reality for many of the youngsters in the children's homes, so the context in which it was being taught was a very real one."

West is, however, of the view that if Wade and the other interim board members continue to sing from the same hymn book as the previous board, and do not get back to the organisation's roots, the JFJ will struggle to regain the confidence of Jamaicans.

"When they (JFJ) came into being, they were protecting the right to life, which would be of the citizens, and they were very good at that, and what they were doing was a good thing," West said. "The question of sexual rights is a whole new concept, which does not have international support and which, from the perspective of culture, may be something that the vast majority of Jamaican persons will not embrace. The concept that young people 10 years old have a right to sex as they choose is a cultural phenomenon that Jamaicans may not accept. So, to the extent that Jamaicans for Justice plans to include that in their mandate and continue to pursue it, it will, I think, give them a challenge to their image."

The training programme, titled 'Realising Sexual and Reproductive Health Responsibly: JFJ's Pilot Intervention in Children's Homes', was undertaken without the knowledge of the CDA or the relevant ministry at Alpha Boys' Home, St John's Bosco, Jamaica National Children's Home, Sunbeam Home for Boys, Elsie Bemand Home for Girls, and Best Care Children's Home.

The police are currently carrying out investigations into the programme to ascertain whether the Child Care and Protection Act and the Offences Against the Person Act were breached, and if anyone should face charges.

ENDS

Frankly the JCHS will do anything to oppose "homosexuality" as it were alongside the recently formed Jamaica CAUSE as as well og which Dr Wayne West is a founding member so I am not surprised at the well crafted rebuttal that really means nothing in the final analysis.

Even when common sense should prevail we see rubbish before us, this course is needed the only thing that has and still bothers me is the bypassing of the constituted authority which is the Child Development Agency, CDA as is legally required and the fact that they with all the proxy and monitoring powers they have of children's homes with abilities to not seek permission from their administrators to access the wards of the state did not see or hear of this seven month long course, someone is not speaking the truth.

Let us watch this development, I hope the JFJ regains its position of trust and the principles which it has come to be known via public advocacy, transparency, good governance and accountability.

A letter in the Jamaica Observer August 4 challenges the legality of the board which raises more questions of in-fighting:

It Read:

Dear Editor,

It is necessary to challenge by what authority do Dr Barry Wade and other members of the newly announced Jamaicans for Justice (JFJ) board of directors act.

Only two board members remained following the children's homes 'scandal' that caused the majority of board members to resign.

It is written in the JFJ Board of Directors Manual, Item 2(f) iii that the board shall consist of no less than seven persons. Therefore, new elections should have been held at the recent JFJ extraordinary general meeting to select new directors to direct the affairs of JFJ. This did not happen.

The so-called new board of directors has no authority to act on behalf of JFJ. A properly constituted board of directors needs to be elected forthwith.

Beverly Sinclair
sinclairbv311@yahoo.com
Kingston 8

I am sure this is not the end of this as some persons seek to de-legitimize the work of JFJ apparently. 

And as sure as I gave the last update above here comes another:

August 4
KINGSTON, Jamaica:  Wade Insists JFJ Board is OK

Interim chairman of Jamaicans for Justice, Dr Barry Wade is today insisting that the interim board of the human rights lobby group was constitutionally appointed.

JFJ has been plunged into crisis over its unauthorised implementation of a sex education course in six privately-run children’s homes.

The human rights group has also been facing a leadership meltdown following mass resignations and counterclaims over who is responsible for the introduction of anal and oral sex content as part of the course.

The interim board was appointed last week during an emergency meeting of JFJ’s membership.

However, following the announcement, questions have been raised in some sectors about the constitutionality of the board.

According to the Interim Chairman, the group’s constitution gives remaining board members the authority to co-opt to the JFJ.

He says this is what was done for the interim board.
Peace and tolerance

H

War Over The Buggery Law

The following is an excerpt from the Gleaner's In Focus, see the full article here

Ian Boyne, Columnist

The struggle between Christians and gay-rights activists over the buggery law is more political than practical. Its repeal or retention is more symbolic than salutary.

Gay people are freely engaging in anal sex and are not worried in the least about police knocking down their doors to arrest them. Nobody is going to report them to the police if they buy their condoms or lubricants. And this argument that gay men are effectively denied health services and hence are vulnerable to HIV infection because of the buggery law seems transparently absurd to me. It is not the existence of the buggery law that prevents gay men from visiting clinics. If any gay man is intimidated to reveal his status, that reluctance has more to do with stigmatisation, prejudice and discrimination - which would remain even if the buggery law were repealed. Once our culture remains heavily influenced by fundamentalist Christianity, that stigma towards homosexuality will remain, whatever happens legally.

Changing the buggery law would be a political victory for gays, yes, and would signal some softening of attitudes towards homosexuality in 'society circles', but on the ground, once you can't eradicate conservative religious ideas about homosexuality, you are going to have stigma, exclusion and non-acceptance. Apartheid was law in South Africa but despised by the black masses of South Africa, just as slavery was law in the British West Indies but revolted against by the enslaved. We know from our history as black people that laws don't equate to popular acceptance. So the repeal of the buggery law would be political and symbolic. That's all.

On the other hand, Christian arguments for the retention of the buggery law are largely political, not philosophical or principled. Christians don't argue on the basis of the merits of the buggery law per se. Their arguments represent either slippery slope reasoning ('this will lead to that') or fear ('This will strengthen the gay lobby agenda', clearly giving them a political victory en route to full legalisation). They can't argue the virtue of the buggery law in itself. Something is just wrong with that philosophically.

Retaining the buggery law can't be justified simply because its repeal could possibly lead to certain consequences. Veronica Evelyn, writing inIn Focus on July 13 in an article titled, revealingly, 'Connect the dots: same-sex marriage and the decriminalisation of buggery', says: "The decriminalisation of buggery is a necessary condition for the legalisation of same-sex marriage. The call for the decriminalisation of buggery does not exist in a vacuum. It is but Step 1 in a downward spiral characterised by a series of decriminalisation, enactment and amendment of laws relating to sexual behaviour."

You can't argue for the retention of the buggery law on such philosophically shaky grounds. Plus, it ignores the fact that there are jurisdictions which have decriminalised buggery and that have actually amended their constitutions to specifically outlaw same-sex marriage. Christians must be honest in their debate on this issue and not obfuscate. The decriminalisation of homosexuality does not have to lead to the legalisation or normalisation of homosexuality. No more than adultery is normalised in law, though it is not criminalised.

MUDDLED REASONING

Repealing the buggery law does not necessarily lead to same-sex marriage. We must not create hysteria by muddled reasoning. That is tantamount to lying, which is forbidden in Scripture. Attorney-at-law Shirley Richards, who has quite correctly and courageously exercised her rights as a citizen to staunchly oppose homosexuality, writes in that same July 13 issue of In Focus: "Repeal of the buggery law places us on this road which, in other countries, has resulted in minority homosexual rights taking precedence over the fundamental human rights of the majority."

Make no mistake: The legalisation of homosexuality threatens civil liberties and the rights of those of us who oppose homosexuality on religious grounds. It takes away our options of exercising personal conscience once homosexuality is normalised in law and if same-sex marriage is legalised. That has been the practice and experience so far.

But it is not true to say that the repeal of the buggery law inexorably leads us down that road. Shirley is not right that "repeal of the (buggery) law will also effectively remove the philosophy that protects true marriage". As a lawyer, she should know of those states which have decriminalised homosexuality and yet have constitutional provisions protecting man-woman marriage. Why ignore that evidence? Because we are in a propaganda war?

Dr Wayne West has been another brave and outspoken soul exercising his democratic right to lobby against homosexuality. Wayne has always sought to be reasoned - whatever you think about his efforts. But his reasoning is vulnerable to serious criticism. Wayne has trotted out a lot of incontestable statistics about the dangers of male homosexuality. The truth is - and the way Wayne speaks you would not know this - gay-rights activists accept that men who have sex with men have a higher prevalence of HIV/AIDS. They accept that anal sex is a more effective means of transmitting AIDS. In fact, that is why they are (misguidedly in my view) pushing for the repeal of buggery laws to free up gays getting treatment. (I don't know of health practitioners reporting gay men who see them.)

Gay activists are saying it is because of the culture of discrimination and stigmatisation why gay men don't get treatment. Using the argument that unprotected anal sex is highly risky can't be the most potent argument against homosexuality, Wayne. Gay men can solve that problem easily by simply using a condom! So what? If gay men start using condoms regularly and the rate of infections among them goes down, would your case against homosexuality collapse?

Health reasons are not what the Bible proffers why homosexuality is morally unacceptable, Wayne. That argument leaves out lesbians. The buggery law is completely silent about lesbians. In fact, in our culture, some of the most ardent and virulent opponents of homosexuality fantasise about and some engage in threesome with women. But the Bible condemns both male and female homosexuality. The conservative Christian opposition seems more cultural than Christian and more political than philosophical. The Christians need to engage a thorough-going and rigorous apologetics against homosexuality and not engage in scattershot, slippery-slope arguments.

IMPORTANT STATEMENT

Some Christians say while it is true that the buggery law does nothing to stop people actually engaging in anal sex, at least it makes an important statement about what the society abhors. It gave Christians a basis for orchestrating the collapse of the Carolyn Gomes-founded Jamaicans for Justice (Gomes was a main agitator against Professor Bain. God, the Christians say, has brought swift judgement against her and her legacy, Jamaicans for Justice).

Christians say, let's keep this law for when buggery is illegal. Gays can't slip material into our schools, children's homes and in our media. But we could still repeal the buggery law and not have homosexuality taught as normal in our schools and public institutions.

Besides, the buggery law does not forbid homosexuality, but only anal sex - which heterosexuals can and do engage in. Our buggery law - unlike in some other jurisdictions - does not punish lesbians. So Christians are supporting a law that falls short of biblical law. Better some of it than none, some would say. But this is not a theocracy, and if adulterers and fornicators are not penalised, nor should homosexuals. It is not fair. You say that's like saying, if you can't catch all criminals, we should not catch some. No, I am saying that in a democratic society, everyone must be equal under the law and laws must be just.

The buggery law is being used as a political weapon against gay people in this culture war. Saying, "Well, adulterers and fornicators don't want to impose their views on us and take away our rights like homosexuals" is another admission that the law is being used as a weapon. A law must be inherently just. We have to do better in our argumentation against homosexuality, brethren.

Ian Boyne is a veteran journalist working with the Jamaica Information Service. Email feedback to columns@gleanerjm.com and ianboyne1@yahoo.com.

Are Lubes Safe for Rectal Use? Next Steps for Researchers and Advocates ..............

Hello readers,

One more resource for you on lubricant safety – and next steps for researchers and advocates.

Check out this excellent presentation by Marc-André LeBlanc at the Microbicides 2012 meeting (April 2012)

Thanks to blogger Jim for sharing this important presentation, images only shared for preview purposes

download presentation HERE

Serodiscordancy .............. Would you date someone who is HIV positive ?

A question I see popping more and more on social media, blogs and even on the streets with mixed reactions as the issue of HIV/AIDS is still a talking point even in the modern world thirty years later after its initial discovery and its renaming from the stigma infused GRID - Gay-related immune deficiency in the eighties we now however have strangely high rates of infection among men who have sex with men in particular, over 30%. Despite major improvements in social marketing with the requisite paraphernalia, ready access to information, rapid testing & counselling, wonderful antiretroviral and highly active antiretroviral therpy (HAART), improved condoms and an option to use the female condom (formerly FEMIDOM 1 now FEMIDOM II) and talk is that newer technologies are on the way we still ended up with an infection rate of over 30% in Jamaica in 2007 and as we await the official results of another survey done in 2011 all indications point to an increase in that figure.

My answer is yes as it is not about the HIV status of the individual that counts firstly although it will be important as to how we move on in the longterm but the whole person among other things .......... firstly let us look at some other pointers:

Serodiscordancy (couples with mixed HIV status) is a subject not often discussed locally as relationship issues generally in same gender loving couples are not looked at with any seriousness either by advocates or groups representing Jamaican LGBT people or I doubt if there are any studies done to look at the pyscho-social issues surrounding this phenomenon, so the bashing is allowed to continue and stigmatization occurs once it is even suspected an individual may have HIV, serodiscordant means by the way or (sero-discordancy) is a term used to describe a couple in which one partner is HIV positive and the other is HIV negative. Serodiscordant relationships are also referred to as "magnetic". The term seroconcordant is its antonym, used to describe a couple in which both partners are of the same HIV status (i.e. both are HIV positive or both are HIV negative).

A US HIV prevention study in 2009 supports what many researchers, activists and people living with the virus have believed for years--antiretroviral medications reduce HIV transmission in straight serodiscordant couples (where one person is HIV positive and one person is HIV negative) by 96 percent. Most couples of mixed HIV status face similar issues regardless of sexual orientation. Straight or gay, mixed couples usually live with fears about HIV transmission to the negative partner and concerns about maintaining a safe but satisfying sex life. Some encounter a profound lack of support and validation from family and friends, who often question why they're getting into or continuing a relationship full of risks like HIV transmission, illness, dependency and death. Of course, illness, death and dependency can happen in any relationship, but somehow HIV makes them more palpable. Serodiscordant couples face numerous issues not faced by seroconcordant couples, including facing a decision as to what level of sexual activity is comfortable for them, knowing that practising safer sex reduces but does not eliminate the risk of transmission to the HIV negative partner. There are also potential psychological issues arising out of taking care of a sick partner, and survivor guilt. Financial strains may also be more accentuated as one partner becomes ill and potentially less able or unable to work.

Research involving serodiscordant couples has offered insights into how the virus is passed and how individuals who are HIV positive may be able to reduce the risk of passing the virus to their partner. With PrEP being pushed now as prevention for HIV in negative persons how will this change the scheme of things once it is approved and becomes the norm worldwide providing that costs for ARVs and related medicines come to a reasonable price for nearly all to have access. Will this improve dating and hence long term relationships and literally remove some of the concerns serodiscordant couples face navigating love and their union? 

Disclosure

Disclosure however of ones HIV status is still a major taboo issue judging by interactions on the subject when it is mentioned, when some enlightened gay Jamaican in particular decides to use a medium such as Facebook to point out quite openly their status as positive they are met with unbelievable hostility for the most part and are driven out of groups in some cases as has been noted in several MSM membered ones and even to the point of closure with tersely worded comments thrown at the nominee as a germ carrier and they are to just go and die, clearly we have long ways to go on this matter with this younger generation. Is there however some denial in all that backlash towards persons who are open about their HIV status or are persons out there knowing that they are HIV positive but are pretending to be otherwise so as to avoid the very stigma that they themselves end up serving on others who are open about the subject? 
Similarly we are told and to some extent seen proof as well of homophobes who are in fact homosexual but use homo-negativity to cover their tracks or seek some sort of psychological relief from the guilt they feel of having same sex urges. 

Overly Cautious 

In any serodiscordant relationship, there is concern at the prospect of spreading the HIV infection to the negative partner. Sexually, the couple may become overly cautious and at the worst, stop any sexual or intimate contact in fear of spreading the infection. While it’s not the most important part a relationship, sexual intimacy is a key component of any loving relationship. Without intimacy, feelings of frustration, longing, and resentment surface and in turn, the relationship suffers.

Survivor’s Guilt 

Guilt can be a powerful and destructive emotion. Most often, survivor’s guilt is a product of situations such as car accidents in which one person survives while many others die. The survivor feels guilty for having lived. In a serodiscordant relationship, the negative partner can feel guilty for being negative. The guilt increases if the positive partner becomes sick due to their HIV. In extreme cases of guilt, the negative partner wishes they too were infected, feeling their infection would relieve the guilt and other stressors present in the relationship. Stress itself can be a barrier to a successful relationship. But certain circumstances that arise in serodiscordant relationships that are particularly difficult.

Super-infection possibilities

HIV superinfection, which occurs when a previously infected individual acquires a new distinct HIV strain, has been described in a number of populations. SEROCONCORDANT couples (both partners being HIV positive) have this issue, the link here is that serodiscordant status may change in some instances as the negative partner's status may change for whatever reason and they may just continue the relationship as before but with new circumstances surrounding the union. Seroconcordant people can still exchange diseases other than HIV - Unprotected sex between two HIV+ people is not free of risk. Infection with one strain of HIV does not preclude later infection with another. There is a great deal of genetic variability within individual HIV populations and this variability is shuffled and mutated every time the virus reproduces inside a cell in the body. There are millions of viruses in the body of an infected person. Modern drug cocktails keep virus and mutation levels low but eventually drug resistance will develop. Unprotected sex between two HIV+ individuals does risk that one with a less aggressive, drug susceptible strain of the virus who might have kept his infection well under the control of the available drugs, might find him or herself with an aggressively drug resistant strain. Furthermore, dual infection has been associated with more rapid progression to AIDS

On dating a positive person

Even if the individual is physically showing early signs of opportunistic infections due to their impaired immune system I would date them if they are an interesting character, that's how far I would go and have gone in fact but more serious fallout may happen depending on how far impaired their systems have become or viral load counts as well which may make the dating process problematic publicly speaking such as a serious cold, cough or other more pronounced visible issues for example may make the dating process rocky, one has to be real in these matters but I guess it comes with years of engaging positive persons through other NGOs and the Ministry of Health's health promotions programs that has led me to this point. PLWHA - persons living with HIV need companionship too probably more so than negative ones as hinted above the issue of stigmatization is still a concern even from the LGBT community itself being persons who are out or not. It's about the personality of the individual, what they bring to the table, maturity, compromise, of course for me their proof of diligence in handling any  health eventualities or complications from an impaired immune system and the matter of adherence to treatment is also crucial.

Their willingness to listen and to be helped while not feeling a sense of being "sorried for" by their partner is also crucial, I have seen generally persons rejecting assistance from others as they felt they were being pitied by the concerned party. 

Of course if we decide to have a long term romantic union we would have to seek some sort of proffessional assistance in terms of navigating the possible stress issues, possible PrEP as prevention (for the negative partner as an option), treatment adherence for the positive partner, safer sex practices for both of us, maintaining faithfulness, conflict resolution skills and other related matters. 

Certainly it is easy writing about it than living it but let us raise the profile about this issue.

Peace and tolerance

H

Buggery laws choking HIV control ..... Lower prevalence rate in men in countries without restrictions

Ingrid Brown

NASSAU, The Bahamas — Michel de Groulard, regional programme adviser of UNAIDS Caribbean Regional Support Team said that data has shown a significantly lower HIV prevalence rate among gay men in Caribbean countries without buggery laws.

According to de Groulard, the HIV prevalence rate among men who have sex with men (MSM) in three Caribbean countries without buggery laws namely Bahamas, Haiti and Suriname was less than 10 per cent in all cases.

This he said is in comparison to Jamaica, Trinidad & Tobago and Guyana where the prevalence rate is more than 20 per cent for these countries with buggery laws.

Pointing to The Bahamas which repealed its buggery laws inn 1991, de Groulard said that the prevalence rate now stands at 8 per cent among gay men. This is despite Bahamas having the highest prevalence rate in the Caribbean.

However in Jamaica, where the buggery laws remain firmly on the books, de Groulard said that the prevalence rate among gay men is a whopping 32 per cent.

"We see correlation for countries which have decriminalised because when you compare them to those who continue to criminalise there is a significant difference," Groulard told the Observer.

He was however unable to say how, if any, decriminalising of homosexuality has impacted the incidents of HIV in countries like The Bahamas, since there are no available data.

Groulard said that while it is easy to determine what per centage of a population is infected, it is more challenging to determine when they were infected, thus determining if this would have been before or after buggeery laws are repealed.

"There are methods to do it but it is expensive and complicated so most countries do not do it," he said.

Dr Peter Figueroa, the former head of Jamaica's national HIV programme said that the HIV prevalence rate among Jamaican men who have sex with men continues to be unacceptably high.

Dr Figueroa was addressing delegates at the 2011 Caribbean HIV Conference now underway at the Atlantis, Paradise Island, The Bahamas where delegates from more than 30 Caribbean countries have come together to chart the way forward in the fight against the disease.

Pointing to a Jamaican study conducted in 2007 with 201 men who have sex with men and another conducted this year with 453 men, the epidemiologist said that only 75 per cent of these men reported using condom at last anal sex.

According to Dr Figueroa, the study further revealed that 34 per cent of MSM had two or more female partners in the last 12 months while 56 per cent of them said they were bisexuals.

The homeless, victims of violence and those of lower socio economic status were twice as likely to become infected with the disease.

"What was worrying in 2011 survey was that 18 per cent said they had no chance of getting HIV and 40 per cent said they had little chance of getting the disease," he said.

HIV prevalence remains high among persons engaging in sex for money with 11 per cent reporting that they had paid for sex and 21 per cent saying they were paid for sex.

Pointing to reasons why the HIV prevalence rate was so high, Dr Figueroa chalked it down to high rate of commercial and transactional sex.

"Many of them are vulnerable, homeless, poor and have no family support and limited education," he said.

Dr Figueroa said that there is a need to empower and support these men to take more responsibility for safe sex.

"We need to provide a much more supportive environment starting from policies to actual programmes, and dealing with discrimination when it takes place," he said.

He said that he purpose of the research is to get closer contact with MSM in order to better improve prevention efforts and to get persons to seek treament earlier.

Meanwhile, policy and advocacy coordinator of the Caribbean Vulnerbale Communities Coalition (CVC) Ivan Cruickshank said that despite the rising levels of infections among vulnerable groups such as sex workers, MSM, prisoners and socially excluded youth, Caribbean states have chosen to focus almost exclusively on targetting the wider population. Such countries, he said continues to develop generalised responses rather than tailored programming.

"Moreover while Caribbean governments often commit on paper and in rhetoric to working with marginalised groups, in private government officials and ministers continue to express resentment to working with these populations," he said

He added that while most governments of the region have committed to report to the United Nations against targets, they fail to report 70 per cent of all data on sex workers and men who have sex with men.

Rev Clinton Chisholm on "Consensual Sex Revisited"

Another entry from Reverend, Blogger, Talk show host and columnist Clinton Chisholm touches on homosexual sex and the public discourse surrounding consent. Although aged it was brought to my attention on the strength of an editorial in the Gleaner earlier this year when the debate had commenced in a sense on gay issues. It was also published as a letter in the same paper. The Editorial was entitled: "

End Discrimination Towards Gays Now

(Excerpt)

Entrenched homophobia

We understand why the various commissions, committees and legislators who drafted the charter failed to expressly declare people's rights to freedom from discrimination based on sexual orientation.

It has do with the receding, but still-entrenched homophobia in Jamaica that caused Mr Golding to declare, more than three years ago, that gays would not be welcome in his Cabinet. Politicians fear that any perception that they embrace or are soft on homosexuality will cost them votes and open them to discrimination and stigma.

The attitude, we insist, is cowardly, retrogressive, socially dangerous and offensive to human rights.

Serious concerns for all

To be clear, our position is neither an endorsement nor rejection of homosexuality. Frankly, we do not care. How consenting adults choose to live their lives is none of our business. There are, however, a couple of things that concern us and which we believe should be the concern of all Jamaicans.

First, while we note and commend the advances in individuals' rights contained in the charter, we are aware that the possibility of discrimination against any group is a toehold for the erosion of the rights of others, notwithstanding the cover of constitutional protection.

Moreover, the fear of stigma, discrimination and violence pushes many people into the closet. Their talents are often underutilised, to the detriment of the society and economy. There is evidence, too, of the health problems faced by gays, many of whom prefer to live without treatment for their illnesses, including HIV/AIDS, for fear of discrimination. The public-health risks are obvious.

It is nearly 50 years since the promulgation of the Constitution; waiting a few more months to get a better charter won't hurt.

Improving the charter will require that it lie in the legislature for months in accordance with the time stipulation for amending the Constitution. In the meantime, legislators should expunge the buggery law, the main bit of existing legislation that makes homosexuality illegal.

Here is the response from Reverend Chisolm let us juxtapose it to the recent comments, concerns and rhetoric by other religious leaders or fanatics however you want to label them, see the post immediately following this one that has several of those responses or 

Anti Sodomy Decriminalization/Repulsion action intensifies from the Christian Community

Consensual Sex Revisited

“To be clear, our position is neither an endorsement nor rejection of homosexuality. Frankly, we do not care. How consenting adults choose to live their lives is none of our business.” (Jamaica Gleaner editorial, April 1, 2011)

To some the above sentiment of the editorial is progressive, politically correct and defensible. To me it is dangerous and disingenuous. I say the editorial’s posture is disingenuous because it seems to reflect a neutral position about homosexuality but this veneer of neutrality is blown to pieces by the realization that the position of the editorial is not neutrality but indictable moral ambivalence/indifference about homosexuality summed up in the words “…we do not care.” How can a responsible and prestigious media organization (which influences public opinion) claim it is none of its business “how consenting adults choose to live their lives…”?

The editorial’s posture is societally dangerous in that how people live their lives sexually is critical to the society’s health concerns and even continued existence. Mathew Staver is correct when he says “It is a truism frequently forgotten by large complex societies: only societies that reproduce survive.” (Same-Sex Marriage, 2004, p.8) Ponder the societal consequence of universalizing homosexuality as the sexual norm!

Can one be really socially responsible but ambivalent about consensual homosexual sex, consensual adultery, consensual incest, consensual sadomasochistic sex given the relational implications of such acts beyond even the health costs of dealing with AIDS and other STIs? Has the editor given thought to the social cost of pregnancies deemed ‘unwanted’ by putative parents and especially the impact of absentee father figures on the lives of our young men?

Let us get it clear in our minds, consensuality even along with privacy and age-maturity does not constitute adequate moral justification for sexual behavior, without more, as the lawyers would say. If we hold the view that a certain sexual behavior is morally defensible let’s have the moral courage to be upfront and say so and not hide behind a thin veneer of neutrality. Homosexuality may indeed need to be decriminalized and the buggery law expunged but the reasons for doing so must be more convincing than simply moral ambivalence or apathy about what consenting adults do sexually.

New HIV infections rising in region, Unprotected straight, anal and bisexual intercourse blamed

This summary is not available. Please click here to view the post.