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What can we learn from the cancellation of the prom at Constance McMillen’s Mississippi high school?
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Jaevion
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About Me:
Jaevion Nelson, is a youth and community empowerment and development enthusiast with special interest in marketing and communications (particularly in new media). He holds a Bachelors of Science in Management Studies where he specialised in Marketing. Jaevion is currently, the Assistant Programmes Officer at the Violence Prevention Alliance, part time teacher of Caribbean Studies and is also a Communications/Marketing Consultant. In 2005 Jaevion was awarded the Prime Minister's Youth Award for Excellence in the field of International Achievement and Oracle Eucation Foundation, ThinkQuest Winner. \the following year he was and a Choices Outstanding Young Achiever. In 2004 he attended the Cable & Wireless Childnet Academy after being named the Most Outstanding Student in the Gleaner's Go-Local 'Show Your Community to the World' Competition. And in 2005 he was selected to be the youth host of the same academy when it was held in Montego Bay, jamaica He later joined Young MDG - a team of youth web designers and developers that published information on the Millennium Development Goals (MDG) in a youth friendly format. The team which comprised of members from Finland, USA, Egypt, Australia, Philipines, Vietnam and Jamaica won in the Cable & Wireless Childnet Academy in 2005 and ThinkQuest Competition in 2004. Today Jaevion still works with many persons internationally. In fact he has been very active in the TakingITGlobal Community since October 2004 where he is a virtual volunteer and an e-Mentor in the Make It Happen eCourse. Jaevion has been a delegate, training, presenter and co-presenter at several workshops, and has assisted in the planning and execution of many events namely for the Jamaica National Commission for the UNESCO, National Centre for Youth Development, Jamaica Youth Advocacy Network and other entities. Just last week (October 14, 2008) he was awarded the Youth Musgrave Medal by the Institute of Jamaica for Distiguish Eminence in the field of Information Technology and Community Development. Aside from his full time employment he is actively involved in several national organisations. he serves as the Marketing & Partnerships Coordinator for the Jamaica Youth Advocacy Network and Chairman for the Caribbean Youth Summit Association.

Wednesday, December 10, 2008 at 8:54:00 AM EST
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The following is a letter to editor published today in the Jamaica Gleaner by Antenna Brown.

The Editor, Sir:

I write in reference to the current debate regarding the distribution of condoms in schools to combat adolescent sexual activity, pregnancies and sexually-transmitted diseases. It seems that those who oppose the measure base their misguided philosophy on the false notions that preaching the gospel of abstinence is effective; and the distributing of condoms to adolescents will advance the onset of their sexual activity.

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Saturday, December 6, 2008 at 9:04:00 PM EST
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It was only this week that I realised that I have only being tested once. And it was never by choice. How sad and risky.

The first time I attempted to get tested, I had never had sexual intercourse. I just thought it would have been good to get the testing experience and ensure that no wounds or pimples I nursed caused me to contract the disease.

I sat down, ready, eager, anxious, scared. I was bombarded with a whole bunch of emotions... not to mention wanting to get over with it so that much people wouldnt pass and think that I am having sex. Someone like me, at the time christian and a very good role model for other youth. I'd be damned.

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Monday, December 1, 2008 at 9:57:00 AM EST
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As James and Mimi loves to say, giving condoms or information about sex will not make us have sex - because when we take an umbrella with us does it mean it will rain? written Jan. 28, 2008.

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I believe that policy makers, academics, analysts and the ‘who’s who’ of society should be silent on societal issues as simple as condom distribution in schools if they continue to live in the past and fail to accept the paradigm shift.

While it is true that the case of children having sex is not reason enough to distribute condoms in our schools, it gives us no authority to judge a society as unethical, lacking in morals and unchristian-like.

The stories and sermons of an abstinence-only approach is a principle, those who are most vocal about not making condoms accessible in schools would have been taught from the time they were conceived. In those days abstinence talk went as far as driving fear in children that the opposite sex is bad company. Without realizing, we began to cultivate an unhealthy society which we must now come to terms with.

Simultaneously, while this was being taught, girls were still dropping out of school because of early and unintended pregnancy. Has abstinence-only education had any success to date? Of course not! Today, high school girls are still dropping out of school or are ‘lucky’ enough to graduate with a baby on the way. To make it worse, teenagers are now contracting sexually transmitted infections- including HIV which was the leading cause of death amongst Jamaicans 10-24 in 2004.

The manner in which we have all uttered our disgust of the idea and double standard is appalling. The persons who now speak so furiously are the same persons who have been granting access to foreigners into our schools to distribute condoms and dental dams, show us how to use them and educate us on HIV/AIDS and other STIs. Not one was so vocal on this. Is this not the same principle of the compromise of morals that we speak of?

How are we, as influencers and change makers to help, if we continue to confuse those we want to assist?

If we are so opposed to condoms being accessible in schools, let us first reduce open access to condoms. There is no advocacy by these people to prohibit the shop on the corner, or the big store in town from selling ‘early sexers’ packs of condoms. But, why should there be such advocacy when the sale is beneficial to us or them rather? Do we even realize that this is the same injection of compromise on the morals we were taught?

Let the change begin with you. Before you become so vocal on the issue commit yourself to dismiss children who purchase a condom from your store, even if it is for mommy and daddy that you know. Let us scold children who we see purchase condoms. Let us call upon the Broadcasting Commission to ban the showing of lewd sexual content on our local TV between 6 a.m. and 10 p.m. and, in the same breath reduce the advertising sales dollars that newspaper receive from publishing contact details on ‘massage parlors’.

The time for action is NOW. Whether we make condoms accessible in schools or not these adolescents and youth will continue to have high risk unprotected sex. The measurable outcome of this activity to date is an over populated country where large numbers of children are being born in poor living conditions and without proper parenting, a society riddled with socials ills and the face of HIV/AIDS continuing to be that of a young Jamaican 10 – 24 years.

It is better we give them the option to make the informed decision about abstaining, using a condom, any other relevant contraceptive method or jut being faithful.

Make condoms accessible in schools! It will save many lives and dollars.


Monday, December 1, 2008 at 9:27:00 AM EST
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As today is World AIDS Day, I thought I would share this:

About five years ago, two days before starting University, I had my first encounter with AIDS. I was attending a training at my church when this happened. I was most traumatised and afraid... I knew most of the facts to protect me from contracting the deadly disease. But I was still worried that I may get it......

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Monday, December 1, 2008 at 9:13:00 AM EST
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This was written March 20, 2008 - but is still relevant in Jamaica.

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Early sex is certianly not a new fad and children are fully aware of that. In fact many of us are products of teenage mothers or parents who were in a sexual relationship in high school.

Quite recently, a number of sex clips have been surfacing the internet. Every parent must be living in fear, wondering when they will hear or perhaps see their child on ‘de tape’. In fact I am sure my mother prays everyday that my little sister is not having sex and certinaly wont be one of the rising stars. I was far from shocked to learn that video of a girl performing oral sex at my alma mater surfaced or rather was leaked to the Principal.

Not too long ago Betty-Ann Blaine in discussion with a caller on her daytime programme ‘On the Agenda’ about this high school students hobby recording sexual scenes deemed these explicit acts abominable, unacceptable, and unjust in the sight of God.

But do teenagers really care what any of us think? Of course not! When I expressed my shock with one teenager from a school in Manchester who sent me some clips he was quick to let me know that the technology has only made these occurrences more blatant. He highlighted that we were all having sex and we must stop pretending.

Does this mean that if we begin to approach our high school problems with more ‘livity’ as we may call it - our policies and intervention programs might begin to have more purpose? Perhaps we will never know.

We are all so quick to attack these students for enjoying themselves to the point that we stigmatise them, but none of us have taken responsibility of lynching the media for sensationalising these incidences.

The media have a major role to play in society and a responsibility to the public. But we have all become so profit focussed that even the best of us with National Honours and respect have lost focus. Now can we really blame these children? Think about it.

In all the articles I have read sorrounding these happenings not once have I seen a call for students to use a condom, talk to a responsible adult or peer about what they are doing or even to speak with a teenager and find out why all this really happens. And to make an even more bigger impact charge the relevant stakeholders to look into the issue differently.

Now who are we to blame? Let’s point fingers on the media, the education ministry, guidance counsellors, parents, churches, businesses, and schools. I say let’s blame the damn society! Who makes it up? All of us.

Why are we all so important to this process of so called communication and behaviour change modification? What should we really do? Sit and continue to curse students who have sex? Tell them that sex is something that should be of value between two - when so many of us sleep around? Com’on let’s be real for once!

I agree that the issue of students having sex at school or at home is one that must be taken seriously, but certainly not the way in which we have been going about it over the years.

Let’s talk about sex now! And I say do it before it’s too late. Before we even try to educate children about all these fears we have why they shouldnt have sex - we must tell them about it. Young people need as much information about sex and sexuality from an early age so they can begin to make more informed decisions.

Really, why are Jamaicans so afraid to talk about sex and sexuality? Why cant we be open about it? Yes it is a private activity - so what? I am sure morals and the Bible permits discourse on the matter and even if it didnt you wouldnt automatically be banished to hell. So my friends, there is no need for us to go back to the days of telling our children that mommy has a tomato (instead of saying vagina) and daddy has a plantain (why not penis?).

Do you realise how silly we are? As Nadia Howe, CEO at the May Pen Hospital expressed to me in a conversation recently - it makes no sense for us to tell young people not to do this and that and not speak to them openly.

One student from a prominent all girls school in Montego Bay, St James also shared with me that “it doesnt really matter how much abstinence is preached it all boils down to personal choice.”

So how can we influence personal choice? Tell them about sex or shove things under the carpet? According to Andrew Francis, Convenor of the Jamaica Youth Advocacy Network (JYAN) “the only way they (young people) can make informed choices about such when they are given the necessary information.”

Francis highlighted that information sharing is important to influencing personal choice because “curiousity and adventure may lead them to get involved in high risk sexuality activity even without information about sex, sexuality, benefits of delaying sexual activity or protecting one’s self in the case that you cannot abstain.”

My advice is as the adage says, teach a child in the way he should grow so that when he is old he will not depart from it. This will only happen when adults remove their fears, and be honest with adolescents!

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