I am so distraught and upset at how all this has played out and I like many other older advocates and volunteers now feel we waisted our time in service just to watch poor management and unethical actions wipe out the results though incremental wiped out before our eyes as we have been set back psychologically some ten years, so much has happened in between the Bain issue and now in just one month exactly as it was May 18 that the former matter broke in the newspapers.
Now today the Gleaner carried this:
Jermaine Francis & Gary Spaulding, Gleaner Writers
With concerns mounting yesterday over the involvement of Jamaicans for Justice (JFJ) in an explicitly worded sex-education programme, the human-rights lobby's former executive director, Dr Carolyn Gomes, has resigned as a member of its board.
JFJ has also rushed to apologise for the inclusion of the controversial content in the training course it implemented in six private children's homes eight months ago.
Word of Gomes' departure came after a meeting with the JFJ board, which accepted her resignation.
When contacted yesterday for a response to the issues surrounding the sex education course, Gomes curtly replied in a text to The Gleaner: "I am not authorised to speak for JFJ."
In April 2013, Gomes negotiated and signed the Caribbean Vulnerable Communities (CVC) Coalition contract for the contentious programme in her capacity as JFJ executive director.
In this role, Gomes, who now heads the CVC, reportedly had responsibility for developing the programme's content; negotiating the partnership agreements with the Jamaica Family Planning Association (FAMPLAN) and with the children's homes' administrators; and rolling it out to the facilities.
She was also responsible for all the administrative functions the programme required.
Gomes supervised the programme until her resignation as JFJ executive director in December 2013.
The latest events, including the JFJ's apology, come nearly a month after the May conclusion of the controversial course.
It was previously believed that the course had been scheduled to be completed next month, leading Youth Minister Lisa Hanna to, on Monday, order its immediate halt.
JFJ-SPEARHEADED INITIATIVE
The CVC Coalition, which serves as the umbrella group for the project, has also responded to the furore, which began with a Sunday Gleanerreport and continued when The Gleaner yesterday revealed elements of the course that were being taught to state wards age 12 to 18.
While it stressed that neither the Global Fund nor the CVC Coalition dictates the final training curriculum of any project, the organisation said in a release over the names of Veronica Cenac, a CVC board member, and John Waters, the group's co-chair, that the project was implemented by JFJ, with funding from the CVC under the PANCAP Global Fund Project.
"Neither the Global Fund nor CVC dictates the final training curriculum of any project," the coalition said in the release.
"The CVC component of the PANCAP Global Fund Project (Phase 1) has already been evaluated independently and adjudged to be of the highest standard in addressing the critical determinants among populations vulnerable to the HIV epidemic. The project has been commended for its work with vulnerable groups by the Office of the Inspector General of the Global Fund to Fight Tuberculosis, Malaria, and HIV."
JFJ ACCEPTS RESPONSIBILITY
Yesterday, the JFJ unreservedly apologised for the controversial material injected into the curriculum titled 'The Healthy Sexual Growth and Development in Marginalised Youth: Rights, Responsibilities, and Life Skills'.
"Following recent media discussions that JFJ has been providing age-inappropriate content to children in six children's homes … the JFJ Board of Directors accepts full and unconditional responsibility for not vetting the programme content and its release," stated the JFJ in a statement late yesterday.
The human-rights group said it has also extended an apology to its programme partner, FAMPLAN, which, it stated, was unaware of the inclusion of the controversial material.
"We also apologise to our other stakeholders for not first clearing with them the programme content prior to its release," the release stated.
JFJ claimed it acknowledged that a breakdown in its "usually scrupulous in-house vetting regime" had occurred.
"JFJ wishes to assure the public and its stakeholders that immediate safeguards have been reinstituted to mitigate against any recurrence of the kind," the release stated.
The JFJ said it was continuing an internal review of the entire matter and would, at the earliest opportunity, advise the public as to the result of the review and the remedial action that would be implemented.
Yesterday, civic group Jamaica Coalition for a Healthy Society said it was "incensed, but not surprised, at the recent news reports of unsolicited and unauthorised interventions by JFJ and the CVC in several Jamaican children's homes".
I am not authorised to speak for JFJ.
Jermaine Francis & Gary Spaulding, Gleaner Writers
With concerns mounting yesterday over the involvement of Jamaicans for Justice (JFJ) in an explicitly worded sex-education programme, the human-rights lobby's former executive director, Dr Carolyn Gomes, has resigned as a member of its board.
JFJ has also rushed to apologise for the inclusion of the controversial content in the training course it implemented in six private children's homes eight months ago.
Word of Gomes' departure came after a meeting with the JFJ board, which accepted her resignation.
When contacted yesterday for a response to the issues surrounding the sex education course, Gomes curtly replied in a text to The Gleaner: "I am not authorised to speak for JFJ."
In April 2013, Gomes negotiated and signed the Caribbean Vulnerable Communities (CVC) Coalition contract for the contentious programme in her capacity as JFJ executive director.
In this role, Gomes, who now heads the CVC, reportedly had responsibility for developing the programme's content; negotiating the partnership agreements with the Jamaica Family Planning Association (FAMPLAN) and with the children's homes' administrators; and rolling it out to the facilities.
She was also responsible for all the administrative functions the programme required.
Gomes supervised the programme until her resignation as JFJ executive director in December 2013.
The latest events, including the JFJ's apology, come nearly a month after the May conclusion of the controversial course.
It was previously believed that the course had been scheduled to be completed next month, leading Youth Minister Lisa Hanna to, on Monday, order its immediate halt.
JFJ-SPEARHEADED INITIATIVE
The CVC Coalition, which serves as the umbrella group for the project, has also responded to the furore, which began with a Sunday Gleanerreport and continued when The Gleaner yesterday revealed elements of the course that were being taught to state wards age 12 to 18.
While it stressed that neither the Global Fund nor the CVC Coalition dictates the final training curriculum of any project, the organisation said in a release over the names of Veronica Cenac, a CVC board member, and John Waters, the group's co-chair, that the project was implemented by JFJ, with funding from the CVC under the PANCAP Global Fund Project.
"Neither the Global Fund nor CVC dictates the final training curriculum of any project," the coalition said in the release.
"The CVC component of the PANCAP Global Fund Project (Phase 1) has already been evaluated independently and adjudged to be of the highest standard in addressing the critical determinants among populations vulnerable to the HIV epidemic. The project has been commended for its work with vulnerable groups by the Office of the Inspector General of the Global Fund to Fight Tuberculosis, Malaria, and HIV."
JFJ ACCEPTS RESPONSIBILITY
Yesterday, the JFJ unreservedly apologised for the controversial material injected into the curriculum titled 'The Healthy Sexual Growth and Development in Marginalised Youth: Rights, Responsibilities, and Life Skills'.
"Following recent media discussions that JFJ has been providing age-inappropriate content to children in six children's homes … the JFJ Board of Directors accepts full and unconditional responsibility for not vetting the programme content and its release," stated the JFJ in a statement late yesterday.
The human-rights group said it has also extended an apology to its programme partner, FAMPLAN, which, it stated, was unaware of the inclusion of the controversial material.
"We also apologise to our other stakeholders for not first clearing with them the programme content prior to its release," the release stated.
JFJ claimed it acknowledged that a breakdown in its "usually scrupulous in-house vetting regime" had occurred.
"JFJ wishes to assure the public and its stakeholders that immediate safeguards have been reinstituted to mitigate against any recurrence of the kind," the release stated.
The JFJ said it was continuing an internal review of the entire matter and would, at the earliest opportunity, advise the public as to the result of the review and the remedial action that would be implemented.
Yesterday, civic group Jamaica Coalition for a Healthy Society said it was "incensed, but not surprised, at the recent news reports of unsolicited and unauthorised interventions by JFJ and the CVC in several Jamaican children's homes".
I am not authorised to speak for JFJ.
ENDS
After listening carefully an interview on radio Jamaica's Beyond the Headlines and then on Nationwide with representatives from Jamaicans for Justice, CVC and Family Planning Jamaica I am left that JFJ will no longer partner in any LGBT work based on the utterances by the board member with what was described as irreconcilable differences between JFJ and Mrs Gomes. The big question of the hour though is who made the changes to the slides or the curriculum that was finally presented to the wards?
Yesterday's Gleaner Headline only sought to muddy the waters even further on "Indecent Exposure"
The story read in part
"THERE ARE signs emerging that the sexual education course introduced into six private children’s homes by human-rights group Jamaicans for Justice (JFJ) was hijacked by gay-rights promoters. The target group of the project was approximately 120 children aged 12 to 17 who are current wards at the Jamaica National Children’s Home, St John’s Bosco Home, Elsie Bernard Girls’ Home, Sunbeam Home for Boys, and Alpha Boys’ Home.
The programme, titled ‘Realising Sexual and Reproductive Health Responsibly: JFJ’s Pilot Intervention in Children’s Homes’, for which content was originally provided by the Jamaica Family Planning Association (FAMPLAN), was funded by the Caribbean Vulnerable Communities (CVC). Youth Minister Lisa Hanna has ordered that the six homes be told to end the course immediately. “Last year, JFJ applied for funding to support their work in children’s homes with the delivery of human-rights training in the area of sexual and reproductive health,” revealed St Rachel Ustanny, chief executive officer of FAMPLAN. “We were approached and we had an existing PowerPoint presentation laid out in an eight-module format with about six specific topics, including gender, interpersonal relationship, puberty, reproduction and advocacy – teaching young people how to advocate for themselves.”
PARTNERSHIP
Continued Ustanny: “There was a partnership between JFJ and FAMPLAN, and as part of that plan we made commitments to provide information and training to select personnel from within Jamaicans for Justice, who would be responsible for the implementation of the education programme within the homes.” The Gleaner has received copies of the course outline in which the wards of these children’s Indecent exposure Oral, anal sex acceptance sneaked into JFJ course in children’s homes were taught that “vaginal sex, anal sex and oral sex are forms of sexual penetration”, with no immediate reference to the fact that anal sex remains illegal in Jamaica. FAMPLAN has, however, distanced itself from some of the programme’s content, as two modules were added. These modules deal with the normalisation of anal sex and homosexuality.
“Clearly, there were structural and content changes that took place in terms of what was given to JFJ by FAMPLAN and what they eventually produced. “In terms of what we delivered to JFJ and what I reviewed on Saturday, there were clear insert ions. It demonstrated, too, that JFJ, as a funded organisation, was not only to deliver elements that we introduced to them ... but as a recipient of funds from CVC, they, too, would have complied,” Ustanny explained. “CVC has their own sexeducation curriculum which I think would be oriented towards their focus.”
The programme, which started last October, and was slated to conclude next month, saw the youngsters being introduced to three forms of sexual penetration and told that not all three are suited for everyone so they should discuss their preference with their partners. “Anal and oral sex have traditionally been frowned upon, but with time, these practices are becoming more accepted,” outlined the course manual as it urged the children to “use a condom and lubricant during anal sex”, to protect against HIV and other sexually transmitted infections (STIs). A Gleaner source, who wished to remain anonymous, said the course, which was undertaken without the knowledge of the Child Development Agency (CDA) or the relevant ministry, was modified and presented as a human-rights issue.
NOT AGE-APPROPRIATE
“These were never in the FAMPLAN information and, as a matter of fact, were not age-appropriate,” said the source who noted that the entity was a major advocate of school-based comprehensive sexuality education and the need for health professionals to understand and support youth-friendly services. “But it uses age-appropriate material and would not tell a 12-year-old that anal sex is normal,” added the source. Gender was defined in the material as “the way persons choose to act out their masculinity or femininity in society. For example, a person may be born with male sex organs but may have a feminine gender and even choose to live as a woman”. The wards in the six private children’s homes where the programme was introduced were also told that they “have the right to access contraceptives, but young people are hindered from doing so because of ... minority laws”. The youngsters were, however, advised that they can utilise the “withdrawal method, where the male removes his penis......"
Yesterday's Gleaner Headline only sought to muddy the waters even further on "Indecent Exposure"
The story read in part
"THERE ARE signs emerging that the sexual education course introduced into six private children’s homes by human-rights group Jamaicans for Justice (JFJ) was hijacked by gay-rights promoters. The target group of the project was approximately 120 children aged 12 to 17 who are current wards at the Jamaica National Children’s Home, St John’s Bosco Home, Elsie Bernard Girls’ Home, Sunbeam Home for Boys, and Alpha Boys’ Home.
The programme, titled ‘Realising Sexual and Reproductive Health Responsibly: JFJ’s Pilot Intervention in Children’s Homes’, for which content was originally provided by the Jamaica Family Planning Association (FAMPLAN), was funded by the Caribbean Vulnerable Communities (CVC). Youth Minister Lisa Hanna has ordered that the six homes be told to end the course immediately. “Last year, JFJ applied for funding to support their work in children’s homes with the delivery of human-rights training in the area of sexual and reproductive health,” revealed St Rachel Ustanny, chief executive officer of FAMPLAN. “We were approached and we had an existing PowerPoint presentation laid out in an eight-module format with about six specific topics, including gender, interpersonal relationship, puberty, reproduction and advocacy – teaching young people how to advocate for themselves.”
PARTNERSHIP
Continued Ustanny: “There was a partnership between JFJ and FAMPLAN, and as part of that plan we made commitments to provide information and training to select personnel from within Jamaicans for Justice, who would be responsible for the implementation of the education programme within the homes.” The Gleaner has received copies of the course outline in which the wards of these children’s Indecent exposure Oral, anal sex acceptance sneaked into JFJ course in children’s homes were taught that “vaginal sex, anal sex and oral sex are forms of sexual penetration”, with no immediate reference to the fact that anal sex remains illegal in Jamaica. FAMPLAN has, however, distanced itself from some of the programme’s content, as two modules were added. These modules deal with the normalisation of anal sex and homosexuality.
“Clearly, there were structural and content changes that took place in terms of what was given to JFJ by FAMPLAN and what they eventually produced. “In terms of what we delivered to JFJ and what I reviewed on Saturday, there were clear insert ions. It demonstrated, too, that JFJ, as a funded organisation, was not only to deliver elements that we introduced to them ... but as a recipient of funds from CVC, they, too, would have complied,” Ustanny explained. “CVC has their own sexeducation curriculum which I think would be oriented towards their focus.”
The programme, which started last October, and was slated to conclude next month, saw the youngsters being introduced to three forms of sexual penetration and told that not all three are suited for everyone so they should discuss their preference with their partners. “Anal and oral sex have traditionally been frowned upon, but with time, these practices are becoming more accepted,” outlined the course manual as it urged the children to “use a condom and lubricant during anal sex”, to protect against HIV and other sexually transmitted infections (STIs). A Gleaner source, who wished to remain anonymous, said the course, which was undertaken without the knowledge of the Child Development Agency (CDA) or the relevant ministry, was modified and presented as a human-rights issue.
NOT AGE-APPROPRIATE
“These were never in the FAMPLAN information and, as a matter of fact, were not age-appropriate,” said the source who noted that the entity was a major advocate of school-based comprehensive sexuality education and the need for health professionals to understand and support youth-friendly services. “But it uses age-appropriate material and would not tell a 12-year-old that anal sex is normal,” added the source. Gender was defined in the material as “the way persons choose to act out their masculinity or femininity in society. For example, a person may be born with male sex organs but may have a feminine gender and even choose to live as a woman”. The wards in the six private children’s homes where the programme was introduced were also told that they “have the right to access contraceptives, but young people are hindered from doing so because of ... minority laws”. The youngsters were, however, advised that they can utilise the “withdrawal method, where the male removes his penis......"
ENDS
Strangely the article is no longer available online on the Gleaner's site which now has me wondering what has changed within the last twenty four hours? meanwhile Hanna demands answers:
another story that has mysteriously disappeared from the Gleaner's online page as well
JFJ had issues this text on June 5 via Facebook:
Let us stay focus despite the blows from outside as well as within the struggle.
JFJ had issues this text on June 5 via Facebook:
Text from Reform Matters: Realising Sexual and Reproductive Health Responsibly...
June 5, 2014 at 3:53pm
Realising Sexual and Reproductive Health Responsibly: JFJ’s Pilot Intervention in Children’s Homes
June 2014 - In the previous issue of the special edition of reform matters, the issues surrounding healthy sexual growth and development in marginalised youth were examined. This second newsletter in the series will explore Jamaicans for Justice’s pilot project in children’s home.
Jamaicans for Justice (JFJ) in partnership with the Jamaica Family Planning Association (FAMPLAN Jamaica) and with the kind support of the Caribbean Vulnerable Communities (CVC) and Centro de Orientación e Investigación Integral (COIN) have combined resources to foster healthy sexual growth and development in marginalised youth in children’s homes. The ten month project spanning October 2013 to July 2014 focuses on rights, responsibilities and life skills as a result of the increase in HIV and AIDS infections in adolescents.
JFJ has been concerned with the situation of children in state care from 2001 and has since been advocating for improvements in their condition. The intervention is the first of its kind for the organisation and is being carried out in six privately run children’s homes.
Sexual and reproductive health is a human right that is not always recognised, and marginalised youth are at greater risk of not having this right realised due to limitations with age of minority laws and discriminatory practices. These limitations help to contribute to the contraction of HIV among marginalised youth. JFJ’s intervention therefore aims to promote a culture of responsibility regarding realising sexual and reproductive health in order to reduce the incidence of HIV infections in the adolescent population. In order to take steps toward realising this goal, the project has three main objectives:
1. Provide marginalised youth in children’s homes with rights-based information on sexual and reproductive rights to allow for their empowerment
2. Furnish vulnerable youth in children’s homes with knowledge and life skills to ensure their participation and enable improvements in their health seeking behaviours, access to key health and protective services and sustain healthy lifestyle practices.
3. Engage with and empower caregivers of targeted marginalised youth in children’s homes, in order for them to improve the enabling and protective environment, allowing young people to claim their sexual and reproductive rights responsibly.
The target group of the project is approximately 120 children ranging ages 12 to 17. These young people are girls and boys housed in urban and rural children homes for various reasons, including behavioural problems, neglect, abandonment, parents having died or are alive but unable to financially care for them, as well as due to physical or sexual abuse. Along with the children, approximately 80 caregivers are targeted due to them occupying a supervisory and in loco parentis role in relation to the children. It is due to these roles why it is imperative that the caregivers also receive the training.
After receiving training from CVC-COIN and being aided by FAMPLAN Jamaica in October of last year to develop the curriculum for the project, JFJ’s facilitators began implementing the intervention the following month. Caregivers of the homes, including teachers and other staff members who interact with the wards, were the first to receive intense training in human rights, sexual and reproductive health issues affecting youth, and communication for providing a protective and enabling environment for wards who may need assistance. The training with caregivers was subsequently followed by sessions with the wards. Some children’s homes had wards that were being home-schooled while some had wards who attended public schools. Of those who attended public schools, some were on a shift system. These factors affected which homes were able to facilitate training on weekdays or on weekends. Sessions spanning January to May were carried out with the wards of all six privately run children’s homes. The targeted wards from these homes received education and training in: human rights; sexual and reproductive rights and responsibilities; puberty, reproduction, body image; gender relations; sexuality and society; relationships; and communication and decision-making skills. This included providing them with information on where to access youth-friendly non-discriminatory spaces that offered health and protective services.
Participatory Approach
A project of this nature required careful delivery and recognition of the input of the target group. Therefore, a participatory approach was taken with the delivery of the intervention. Participatory activities to educate adolescents on critical health issues hve been stated as one which works in reducing high risk sexual behaviour, and promote social adjustment, among other things. This participatory approach is an educational approach based on the belief that the purpose of education is to expand the ability of people to become shapers of their world by analysing the social forces that have historically limited their options. JFJ’s implementers recognised that the participation of the wards would be integral in shaping the outcomes of the project. Children have different experiences and as such approach sexual and reproductive health in their own personal way, allowing for a wealth of knowledge to be dispersed.
A participatory approach in human rights education and training promotes and values the sharing of personal knowledge and experience, encourages mutual respect and reciprocal learning, and seeks out and includes the voice of the participants in the learning process. It enables the targeted marginalised youth with different values, beliefs and backgrounds to learn effectively together and learn from each other. It encourages social analysis aimed towards empowering youth participants to develop concrete actions for social change that are in accordance with human rights values and standards.
Even though the intervention explored a range of issues, some of which resulted in the children sharing their preconceived notions, the JFJ facilitators made certain not to impose their beliefs but provided information to widen the learning scope of participants with the hope that they would use their new knowledge to shape their understanding and make better decisions.
Reception
The administrators of the homes welcomed the intervention as it was felt that it was timely and necessary for their wards. The zeal of the administrators was not at first shared by the caregivers. Caregivers were at first apprehensive about JFJ, human rights and the rights of children taking precedence over their rights which they indicated often times resulted in bias in favour of the children in many situations.
After completing the first session, the caregivers realised that they had certain misconceptions and in order to get the equity they desired, it was possible that what they needed was their own representation instead of looking for this through to the state and non-governmental organisations set up to preserve the rights of children. By the end of their training, they realised the value of the project and wished that there were more capacity building interventions for caregivers in children’s homes.
The children waited with baited breaths to see what the JFJ facilitators would bring. They turned out in their numbers for the initial sessions and seemed to like the participatory techniques employed.
As the training with the children progressed, the number of participants fluctuated due to several reasons. These included children returning home to their families, some running away, some sent to other homes as well as sessions clashing with other activities that required the attendance of some of the children.
Training sessions were at times difficult to complete due mainly to behavioural challenges presented by the children. Although these children came from a wider society with a breakdown in values and decorum, it became obvious that they also needed interventions on propriety, how to minimise confrontations, deal with conflicts and stop bullying.
At about the mid-point of the intervention, it was evident that some administrators prioritised other activities for the children over training sessions, even though initially they indicated their commitment by not only welcoming the project’s facilitators into their homes but also signing memoranda of understanding (MOUs). Priority was given to people coming to provide the children with “treats” and freebies or the mainstream academic curriculum was prioritised over the intervention which resulted, at times, in sessions having to be postponed.
By the end of the intervention, the administrators, caregivers and wards were in disbelief that it was over and were sad to see it end as they professed that they had been learning a lot.
Sustainability
The children’s homes that benefited from the intervention seemed to be devoid of long term interventions suited for their wards to function in the wider society. Education and learning should not just be about academics nor should care and protection of institutionalised children consist mainly of providing food, shelter and clothing. Priority also has to be placed on children’s complete development. The wards of the state should not leave the same way they entered the system nor should they leave in a worse state.
There exist 52 children’s homes in Jamaica: five state-run and 47 privately-run. An intervention of this nature which focuses on the healthy sexual growth and development of marginalised youth from a rights, responsibilities and life skills approach needs to be implemented in all children’s homes and even youth-populated correctional centres. Therefore, the sustainability of this intervention requires buy-in from all stakeholders especially government which has the power to facilitate this expansion. The Ministers of Education, Youth, Health, National Security and even Finance and Social Security (as risky sexual behaviour among marginalised youth impacts the country’s welfare system) need to take a vested interest in not only JFJ’s pilot intervention but in others that address the additional social issues faced by the wards and caregivers.
The impact of JFJ’s pilot intervention will only be bolstered when these other initiatives are implemented.
The next issue will focus on the lessons learnt from JFJ’s pilot project in children’s homes.
Send your comments to:
About Jamaicans For Justice:
Founded in 1999, Jamaicans for Justice (JFJ) is a non-profit,
non-partisan, non-violent citizens’ rights action organisation advocating for transparency, accountability and overall good governance in state affairs.
JAMAICANS FOR JUSTICE
2 Fagan Avenue, Kingston 8, Jamaica, W.I.
Tel: (876) 755-4524-6
Fax: (876) 755-4355
Email: admin@jamaicansforjustice.org
Website: www.jamaicansforjustice.org
Facebook: Jamaicans For Justice (JFJ)
Twitter: @JAforJustice
YOUTUBE: jamaicansforjustice
Let us stay focus despite the blows from outside as well as within the struggle.
Peace and tolerance
UPDATE June 28 2014
Hardened Positions by Religious Fanatics & Their LGBT Detractors Will Only Leave More Blood on the Floor
Anti Gay Voice & 'Child Rights' Advocate Betty-Ann Blaine Taken to Task on Public Advocacy
Why did CVCC & JFJ not Fund a Project/Home for Homeless LGBT Youth in New Kingston instead of the Children’s Home Fiasco that now obtains?
UPDATE June 28 2014
also click the Jamaica CAUSE label/tab immediately below for other posts on the anti gay groups actions and commentary.
UPDATES
JFJ Split Widens - Long-Time Members Demand Extraordinary Meeting As Human-Rights Group Seems Set To Implode
Former JFJ Head Carolyn Gomes Distances Self From Controversial Sex Ed Material
UPDATES
JFJ Split Widens - Long-Time Members Demand Extraordinary Meeting As Human-Rights Group Seems Set To Implode
Former JFJ Head Carolyn Gomes Distances Self From Controversial Sex Ed Material
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