Simone Braithwaite of Femidom, distributors of the female condom, shows schoolboys how to put on a condom in this 2006 photograph. - Rudolph Brown/Chief Photographer

The Jamaican Government might be assuming a new position on sex education. While public schools will not distribute condoms and birth-control pills to sexually-active students, the groundwork is being laid for a referral mechanism that will point students to 'child-friendly health services' where they can access contraceptives.

A recent advertisement published in the latest edition of The Sunday Gleaner (May 3) suggested that the Government is softening its position on sex education, which has proved a taboo and thorny issue in the past.

The advertisement said that the Ministry of Education, with support from the Ministry of Health and National HIV/STI Programme and the Global Fund to fight AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria, is seeking to recruit, for two months, a consultant who will be required "to develop a referral mechanism for sexually-active students to access sexual and reproductive health services outside of the formal school setting".

Condoms on campus

One of the major duties of the consultant being sought is to design "a mechanism/strategy that equips guidance counsellors, teachers and peer educators with skills necessary for referring students for follow-up sexual and reproductive health services not offered within the context of the school environment".

In other words, while public schools will not provide their students with condoms on campus, specific members of the schools' faculty and student body will be equipped to tell at-risk students exactly where they can get contraceptives without the fear of being judged.

"That's basically what we are doing," said Mary Nichols, assistant chief education officer in charge of guidance and counselling at the education ministry.

While admitting that this new policy direction might offend many parents, guardians and other stakeholders, Nichols said the backlash would be greater if schools decided to distribute condoms.

"Of course, but it would be worse if the schools started to distribute condoms," she said.

Nichols was careful to point out that the referral mechanism would not only be about distributing contraceptives, but would also include counselling that could result in the student opting out of engaging in sex.

"Confidential counselling and non-judgmental counselling, that's what we want to get to the students," she said.

Reproductive health needs

Sutherland

Nichols added: "We are referring (the students) to persons who can assist with the issues identified - the reproductive health needs."

While not advancing that there was an error in the advertisement, Nichols insisted that the consultant is being sought to develop "an effective referral system for all students" and not just "sexually active students".

Miranda Sutherland, president of the National Parent-Teacher Association of Jamaica, said her organisation would resist the implementation of this referral mechanism.

"It is a sad day in our country when we seek to be wasting precious time and resources to go and talk about this issue," she said.

Sutherland said it seems the country has lost its moral compass. "It begs the question on our stance as a country on ethical and moral issues as it relates to our children."

Protesting parents were pleased recently when Andrew Holness, minister of education, put the condom distribution debate to bed by announcing that the contraceptives would not be distributed in schools.

The final deliverable outlined in the advertisement was that the consultant would have to provide "four finalised electronic and hard copies of the effective referral system for at-risk students to access comprehensive sexual and reproductive health services outside of the formal school setting".

tyrone.reid@gleanerjm.com