tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8824889909772698315.post6656450990653300137..comments2023-11-03T07:58:41.673-05:00Comments on Gay Lesbian Bisexual Transgender & Queer Jamaica: Barebacking in Jamaica a worrying reality for meAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17155799011043584557noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8824889909772698315.post-45515622503140106502009-08-19T13:37:25.308-05:002009-08-19T13:37:25.308-05:00In reality negotiating condom use and getting test...In reality negotiating condom use and getting tested, in a society in which sexual matters are a taboo topic, is an extremely difficult task for most to negotiate. This stigmatisation of sex and sexuality has indeed created an environment which is ideal for the continued spread of HIV across the society (gay, straight and bisexual or whatever box one chooses to fit in).<br />I would also hazard a guess from my experiences that unprotected male on female anal sex is far more common in this society than is spoken about. Like masturbation and oral sex, people do it but they don't admit to it. <br />Reality is that sex is such a complex biological urge that it often trumps logic and this makes negotiating condom use that much harder . Figures for 2006 from the Registrar Generals dept for teenaged pregnancies quoted by the Gleaner last year reported over 8000 teen girls having given birth. (http://www.jamaica-gleaner.com/gleaner/20080622/lead/lead7.html)<br />I would further add that I doubt very much that even a quarter of these cases were an issue of ignorance, failed contraception, or rape, but as a friend of mine keeps saying "when hot blood tek yu..." The fact is that bare backing is pretty damn enjoyable for both parties but until we can openly discuss our sex and sexuality with the next generation without it being a issue of morality, we don't stand a chance in hell of tackling HIV in this country.Schifrahnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8824889909772698315.post-58327777041491518172009-08-18T11:23:41.437-05:002009-08-18T11:23:41.437-05:00This is indeed worrying.
People don't get te...This is indeed worrying. <br /><br />People don't get tested often enough, or at all. And they certainly don't use condoms with their main squeeze, because that would suggest that there isn't enough trust between them. This mindset is a recipe for a serious epidemic in Jamaica. Very few people are aware that you can carry and pass on the hIV virus for years, without having any symptoms. <br /><br />We need to find a way to get more people tested. People are not going to walk into a clinic to check if they have an STI, since people only go to the doctor when they feel something is wrong. <br /><br />We need to find a way to bring the clinics to the people. I wonder how difficult it would be to set up testing centers in shopping malls, and on plazas every now and again. I think that is likely to yield more success than traditional in clinics. <br /><br />I asked the driver of a taxi I was traveling in when was the last time he was tested for an STI... he had a puzzled look on his face, and gave no response. He had never been tested, but he is surely having sex. He entertained the other male passengers with tales of the virgins he took to the river, and the many women he now controls.Fiyu Piknihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02436637433989843647noreply@blogger.com