Behaviour change interventions in HIV prevention: is there still a place for them?

Face-to-face interventions work best says Gus Cairns

Jump to
Background to the analysis
Results
Devising a modern behavioural intervention
Reference

A meta-analysis of studies of brief interventions to reduce HIV risk behaviour in HIV-negative gay men has concluded that there is evidence that such techniques did have a significant impact on the behaviours they were designed to change.

It also found evidence that the best way to conduct such interventions was face-to-face, i.e. not via the internet, telephone or phone apps, and that immediately or shortly after HIV testing was an ideal “learning moment” to conduct them.

Interventions that helped participants set goals for themselves, and ones that helped them understand and restructure self-justifying or contradictory thinking, were the ones most likely to result in behaviour change. Programmes worked better if they involved participants feeling differently about themselves and their behavioural risk, rather than receiving new information. Interventions worked better if they were based explicitly on a theory of behaviour change.

However, while the analysis did find positive evidence for such interventions producing behaviour change, the writers also conclude that the HIV prevention “landscape” has changed radically in the last few years. The studies were published between 2002 and 2014 and probably gathered their data at least two years before their publication date. None included as measurable outcomes serosorting or seropositioning (i.e. basing condom use or sex role on a partner’s perceived status), pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) use, decisions based on partners’ viral load, or the use of negotiated safety arrangements, even though the authors tried to find studies that measured these.

There was just one outcome measure that was sufficiently universal across the studies for the authors to make a statistical generalisation about study effectiveness: whether the interventions reduced condomless anal sex. Even though this was measured in various ways (number of condomless acts, number of condomless sex partners, whether they occurred with primary or casual partners, the HIV status or assumed status of the partner, and so on) and was measured over different time periods, the general reduction in condomless sex acts after the eleven interventions was 25%.

Background to the analysis

Compared with the comprehensive effectiveness of both PrEP and immediate HIV treatment as prevention, this may sound like a small reduction in HIV risk. But, as lead author Paul Flowers of Glasgow Caledonian University told aidsmap.com: “Behaviour change interventions boost and complement biomedical technologies rather than competing with them. Getting people on to PrEP and getting people to test regularly is what behaviour change interventions can and should be doing.”

He explained that the impetus behind this meta-analysis of behaviour-change interventions was that he and other academics were involved in writing two sets of new prevention guidelines, for the British Association for Sexual Health and HIV (BASHH) and for Health Protection Scotland.

They were confronted with the lack of an up-to-date evidence base that would indicate how and when to use such interventions to help people at risk of HIV reduce their risk. As well as much of the research being out of date, the field suffers from the fact that most of the research has been done in the US, where effective behavioural interventions are collated at a site run by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

Because of this, they were commissioned by the UK’s National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) to investigate the evidence for what worked and then devise an intervention based on that evidence, which could be 'transferable' enough to produce positive effects on other behaviours such as PrEP use or testing.

There have been a fair number of meta-analyses of behaviour change interventions published. Flowers and colleagues counted 19 published since 2000. These vary by the publication date of the studies they included, by whether they only included specific populations, and by whether they only used certain methods. Because of this, they vary enormously in size, from a systematic review of three studies using cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) in US gay men who inject drugs, to a huge 2005 synthesis of 354 studies that were published between 1988 and 2003.

Results

Flowers and colleagues drew tight criteria for inclusion in their meta-analysis. They only included studies in which at least 60% of participants were HIV-negative men who have sex with men; they only included studies published since 2000, as they wanted to exclude studies conducted in the days before effective antiretroviral therapy (ART) became available; and they only included studies of brief interventions, which meant five sessions or fewer. The latter was because the commissioning call from NIHR required the evidence for brief interventions.

They found eleven studies in all, which varied greatly in their methodology. Some were online and/or used novel intervention strategies: a graphic novel, a telephone intervention, or an informational video added to counselling sessions. Others were face-to-face. Six out of the eleven studies used a version of Personalised Cognitive Counselling (PCC), an adaptation of CBT for single or brief interventions, designed to be used at the time of or close to HIV testing. In addition to the six PCC-based interventions, there were two peer-delivered interventions where the basis of the intervention is not stated. Four were delivered at an HIV testing appointment (three after the negative result was given, one while waiting for the result); two were given during or after testing to both HIV-positive and negative test recipients; and four, primarily the online interventions, were given to people who recorded themselves as being HIV-negative and not at a testing appointment. The follow-up period over which the effect of the intervention was measured varied from two to ten months, with six studies using six months.

As we said above, the eleven studies produced an overall reduction in condomless sex (measured in various ways) of 25% (95% confidence interval, 9% to 38%). Six out of the eleven produced statistically significant reductions.

This agrees well with the second-largest meta-analysis of behavioural interventions, which included 102 studies and was published in 2013: this found a 27-30% reduction in condomless sex among its study recipients, which included HIV-positive and HIV-negative gay and heterosexual men. The largest meta-analysis, the 354-study one mentioned above, found a 38% reduction in condomless sex among recipients of ‘active’ prevention methods, i.e. ones with a counselling component, and 19% in ones without a counselling component such as videos and information sessions.

Flowers’ findings were therefore broadly in line with these. The problem is, however, that the behaviours that interventions may wish to change are now different. The crucial question then, is whether the skills and rethinks taught by the studies involve the kind of learning that might also encourage people to seek and adhere to PrEP, test for HIV regularly, and so on.

As clues to devising an intervention that could reinforce these behaviours as well as condom use, Flowers’ team did some sub-analyses of factors associated with significant reductions in condomless sex.

They found that two methods were associated with significant reductions. The first was using goal-setting and action-planning as part of the method, to get recipients to set behavioural targets. The second was using methods that drew attention to contradictions and justifications in participants’ thinking and thus helped them to feel more understanding, positive and capable about their ability to change. Taken together, these methods were 34% effective. Other methods such as information-giving, social support and an emphasis on threat or danger were not associated with effectiveness.

Interventions delivered via telephone or online were not effective. In contrast interventions delivered face-to-face were 34% effective. If the intervention was delivered immediately after receiving a test result, the average effectiveness was 36%; delivered longer after the result, interventions were not effective.

Although these factors were not quantified, the study found also that interventions were effective if they were delivered by professionals, but ones with clear and contemporary knowledge of the gay scene and MSM sex.

Devising a modern behavioural intervention

As a result, Flowers and colleagues drew up a specification for a suggested modern behavioural intervention for gay men.

It would include:
An initial ‘peer-oriented visual aid’ which would not just talk about health risk but also address the complexity of modern HIV risk and talk about emotions and feelings, serosorting, condomless sex, PrEP, treatment as prevention and drug and alcohol use.

This would segue into a one-to-one counselling session that would:
Focus initially on a single event seen by the client as risky or unhelpful (not using a condom, missing a PrEP dose, etc)
Refer back to the visual aid to put the client’s actual risk and the processes that led to taking a risk (emotional need, intoxication, being too busy, etc) in perspective
Invite the client to think about weighing up the pros and cons of different behaviours/strategies and how they might do things differently
Help the client draw up an action plan to help reduce risk or encourage health-seeking behaviours for the future.

Paul Flowers and colleagues are hopeful that this intervention could be the subject of a study of a behavioural intervention truly adapted to the new world of HIV prevention.

“We definitely think it is time for studies to embrace diverse outcome measures – it’s long overdue. We can’t speak for NIHR but we think it’s worth considering post-test interventions to increase frequent testing among those who need it and to encourage the consideration of PrEP. There will be challenges as HIV testing diversifies into self-testing and so on and we’ve written another paper on that.

But an HIV test represents a ‘teachable moment’ for some people and we want to help them sustain positive changes they might be motivated to make at that moment.”

Reference

Flowers P et al. The clinical effectiveness of individual behaviour change interventions to reduce risky sexual behaviour after a negative human immunodeficiency virus test in men who have sex with men: systematic and realist reviews and intervention development. Health Technology Assessment 21(5): DOI 10.3310/hta21050. See full report here.

International Women's Day 2017 ...... #BeBoldForChange

ADVOCATES & ALLIES WILL BE MARCHING AND SPEAKING OUT AGAINST THE VIOLENCE IN OUR COUNTRY. ENOUGH IS ENOUGH..THE KILLINGS ARE SENSELESS. IT NEEDS TO STOP. WE WANT TO GIVE A VOICE TO THE VOICELESS.

About International Women's Day (8 March)

International Women's Day (March 8) is a global day celebrating the social, economic, cultural and political achievements of women. The day also marks a call to action for accelerating gender parity.

International Women's Day (IWD) has been observed since in the early 1900's - a time of great expansion and turbulence in the industrialized world that saw booming population growth and the rise of radical ideologies. International Women's Day is a collective day of global celebration and a call for gender parity. No one government, NGO, charity, corporation, academic institution, women's network or media hub is solely responsible for International Women's Day. Many organizations declare an annual IWD theme that supports their specific agenda or cause, and some of these are adopted more widely with relevance than others.

"The story of women's struggle for equality belongs to no single feminist nor to any one organization but to the collective efforts of all who care about human rights," says world-renowned feminist, journalist and social and political activist Gloria Steinem. Thus International Women's Day is all about unity, celebration, reflection, advocacy and action - whatever that looks like globally at a local level. But one thing is for sure, International Women's Day has been occurring for well over a century - and continue's to grow from strength to strength.

Learn about the values that underpin and guide IWD's ethos.

International Women's Day timeline journey

1908

Great unrest and critical debate was occurring amongst women. Women's oppression and inequality was spurring women to become more vocal and active in campaigning for change. Then in 1908, 15,000 women marched through New York City demanding shorter hours, better pay and voting rights.

1909

In accordance with a declaration by the Socialist Party of America, the first National Woman's Day (NWD) was observed across the United States on 28 February. Women continued to celebrate NWD on the last Sunday of February until 1913.

1910

In 1910 a second International Conference of Working Women was held in Copenhagen. A woman named Clara Zetkin (Leader of the 'Women's Office' for the Social Democratic Party in Germany) tabled the idea of an International Women's Day. She proposed that every year in every country there should be a celebration on the same day - a Women's Day - to press for their demands. The conference of over 100 women from 17 countries, representing unions, socialist parties, working women's clubs - and including the first three women elected to the Finnish parliament - greeted Zetkin's suggestion with unanimous approval and thus International Women's Day was the result.

1911

Following the decision agreed at Copenhagen in 1911, International Women's Day was honoured the first time in Austria, Denmark, Germany and Switzerland on 19 March. More than one million women and men attended IWD rallies campaigning for women's rights to work, vote, be trained, to hold public office and end discrimination. However less than a week later on 25 March, the tragic 'Triangle Fire' in New York City took the lives of more than 140 working women, most of them Italian and Jewish immigrants. This disastrous event drew significant attention to working conditions and labour legislation in the United States that became a focus of subsequent International Women's Day events. 1911 also saw women's Bread and Roses' campaign.

1913-1914

On the eve of World War I campaigning for peace, Russian women observed their first International Women's Day on the last Sunday in February 1913. In 1913 following discussions, International Women's Day was transferred to 8 March and this day has remained the global date for International Women's Day ever since. In 1914 further women across Europe held rallies to campaign against the war and to express women's solidarity. For example, in London in the United Kingdom there was a march from Bow to Trafalgar Square in support of women's suffrage on 8 March 1914. Sylvia Pankhurst was arrested in front of Charing Cross station on her way to speak in Trafalgar Square.

1917

On the last Sunday of February, Russian women began a strike for "bread and peace" in response to the death of over 2 million Russian soldiers in World War 1. Opposed by political leaders, the women continued to strike until four days later the Czar was forced to abdicate and the provisional Government granted women the right to vote. The date the women's strike commenced was Sunday 23 February on the Julian calendar then in use in Russia. This day on the Gregorian calendar in use elsewhere was 8 March.

1975

International Women's Day was celebrated for the first time by the United Nations in 1975. Then in December 1977, the General Assembly adopted a resolution proclaiming a United Nations Day for Women’s Rights and International Peace to be observed on any day of the year by Member States, in accordance with their historical and national traditions.

1996

The UN commenced the adoption of an annual theme in 1996 - which was "Celebrating the past, Planning for the Future". This theme was followed in 1997 with "Women at the Peace table", and in 1998 with "Women and Human Rights", and in 1999 with "World Free of Violence Against Women", and so on each year until the current. More recent themes have included, for example, "Empower Rural Women, End Poverty & Hunger" and "A Promise is a Promise - Time for Action to End Violence Against Women".

2000

By the new millennium, International Women's Day activity around the world had stalled in many countries. The world had moved on and feminism wasn't a popular topic. International Women's Day needed re-ignition. There was urgent work to do - battles had not been won and gender parity had still not been achieved.

2001

The global internationalwomensday.com digital hub for everything IWD was launched to re-energize the day as an important platform to celebrate the successful achievements of women and to continue calls for accelerating gender parity. Each year the IWD website sees vast traffic and is used by millions of people and organizations all over the world to learn about and share IWD activity. The IWD website is made possible each year through support from corporations committed to driving gender parity. The website's charity of choice for many years has been the World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts (WAGGGS) whereby IWD fundraising is channelled. A more recent additional charity partnership is with global working women's organization Catalyst Inc. The IWD website adopts an annual theme that is globally relevant for groups and organizations. This theme, one of many around the world, provides a framework and direction for annual IWD activity and takes into account the wider agenda of both celebration as well as a broad call to action for gender parity. Recent themes have included "Pledge for Parity", "Make it happen", "The Gender Agenda: Gaining Momentum" and "Connecting Girls, Inspiring Futures". Themes for the global IWD website are collaboratively and consultatively identified each year and widely adopted.

2011

2011 saw the 100 year centenary of International Women's Day - with the first IWD event held exactly 100 years ago in 1911 in Austria, Denmark, Germany and Switzerland. In the United States, President Barack Obama proclaimed March 2011 to be "Women's History Month", calling Americans to mark IWD by reflecting on "the extraordinary accomplishments of women" in shaping the country's history. The then Secretary of State Hillary Clinton launched the "100 Women Initiative: Empowering Women and Girls through International Exchanges". In the United Kingdom, celebrity activist Annie Lennox lead a superb march across one of London's iconic bridges raising awareness in support for global charity Women for Women International. Further charities such as Oxfam have run extensive activity supporting IWD and many celebrities and business leaders also actively support the day

2017 and beyond

The world has witnessed a significant change and attitudinal shift in both women's and society's thoughts about women's equality and emancipation. Many from a younger generation may feel that 'all the battles have been won for women' while many feminists from the 1970's know only too well the longevity and ingrained complexity of patriarchy. With more women in the boardroom, greater equality in legislative rights, and an increased critical mass of women's visibility as impressive role models in every aspect of life, one could think that women have gained true equality. The unfortunate fact is that women are still not paid equally to that of their male counterparts, women still are not present in equal numbers in business or politics, and globally women's education, health and the violence against them is worse than that of men. However, great improvements have been made. We do have female astronauts and prime ministers, school girls are welcomed into university, women can work and have a family, women have real choices. And so each year the world inspires women and celebrates their achievements. IWD is an official holiday in many countries including Afghanistan, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Burkina Faso, Cambodia, China (for women only), Cuba, Georgia, Guinea-Bissau, Eritrea, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Laos, Madagascar (for women only), Moldova, Mongolia, Montenegro, Nepal (for women only), Russia, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uganda, Ukraine, Uzbekistan, Vietnam and Zambia. The tradition sees men honouring their mothers, wives, girlfriends, colleagues, etc with flowers and small gifts. In some countries IWD has the equivalent status of Mother's Day where children give small presents to their mothers and grandmothers.

A global web of rich and diverse local activity connects women from all around the world ranging from political rallies, business conferences, government activities and networking events through to local women's craft markets, theatric performances, fashion parades and more. Many global corporations actively support IWD by running their own events and campaigns. For example, on 8 March search engine and media giant Google often changes its Google Doodle on its global search pages to honor IWD. Year on year IWD is certainly increasing in status.

So make a difference, think globally and act locally! 

Make everyday International Women's Day. 

Do your bit to ensure that the future for girls is bright, equal, safe and rewarding.

Facebook algorithm to treat with Suicides & Cries for Help .............

This is good news on the suicide prevention front and indeed there may be just a dent in attempts made public or when they can be so identified via status messages and so on.

Building a Safer Community With New Suicide Prevention Tools

By Vanessa Callison-Burch, Product Manager, Jennifer Guadagno, Researcher, and Antigone Davis, Head of Global Safety

There is one death by suicide in the world every 40 seconds, and suicide is the second leading cause of death for 15-29 year olds. Experts say that one of the best ways to prevent suicide is for those in distress to hear from people who care about them.

Facebook is in a unique position — through friendships on the site — to help connect a person in distress with people who can support them. It’s part of our ongoing effort to help build a safe community on and off Facebook.

Today we’re updating the tools and resources we offer to people who may be thinking of suicide, as well as the support we offer to their concerned friends and family members:

Integrated suicide prevention tools to help people in real time on Facebook Live

Live chat support from crisis support organizations through Messenger

Streamlined reporting for suicide, assisted by artificial intelligence

Already on Facebook if someone posts something that makes you concerned about their well-being, you can reach out to them directly or report the post to us. We have teams working around the world, 24/7, who review reports that come in and prioritize the most serious reports like suicide. We provide people who have expressed suicidal thoughts with a number of support options. For example, we prompt people to reach out to a friend and even offer pre-populated text to make it easier for people to start a conversation. We also suggest contacting a help line and offer other tips and resources for people to help themselves in that moment.

Suicide prevention tools have been available on Facebook for more than 10 years and were developed in collaboration with mental health organizations such as Save.org, National Suicide Prevention Lifeline, Forefront and Crisis Text Line, and with input from people who have personal experience thinking about or attempting suicide. In 2016 we expanded the availability of the latest tools globally — with the help of over 70 partners around the world — and improved how they work based on new technology and feedback from the community.

Supporting Someone on Facebook Live
Our suicide prevention tools for Facebook posts will now be integrated into Facebook Live. People watching a live video have the option to reach out to the person directly and to report the video to us. We will also provide resources to the person reporting the live video to assist them in helping their friend.

The person sharing a live video will see a set of resources on their screen. They can choose to reach out to a friend, contact a help line or see tips. If you or someone you know is in crisis, it is important to call local emergency services right away. You can also visit our Help Center for information about how to support yourself or a friend.

Empowering Crisis Support Partners

Partners are key to our work in suicide prevention and mental health support.
We recently added the ability for people to connect with our crisis support partners over Messenger. Now people will see the option to message with someone in real time directly from the organization’s Page or through our suicide prevention tools.

Participating organizations include Crisis Text Line, the National Eating Disorder Association and the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline.

This test will expand over the next several months, ensuring the organizations can support any new volume of communication. Zendesk donated some of the company’s back end tools to make this integration possible.
Today, we are also launching a video campaign with partner organizations across the globe to raise awareness about ways to help a friend in need.

Making Reporting Easier

We work to address posts expressing thoughts of suicide as quickly and accurately as possible.
Based on feedback from experts, we are testing a streamlined reporting process using pattern recognition in posts previously reported for suicide. This artificial intelligence approach will make the option to report a post about “suicide or self injury” more prominent for potentially concerning posts like these.

We’re also testing pattern recognition to identify posts as very likely to include thoughts of suicide. Our Community Operations team will review these posts and, if appropriate, provide resources to the person who posted the content, even if someone on Facebook has not reported it yet.
We are starting this limited test in the US and will continue working closely with suicide prevention experts to understand other ways we can use technology to help provide support.

Suicide prevention is one way we’re working to build a safer community on Facebook. With the help of our partners and people’s friends and family members on Facebook, we’re hopeful we can support more people over time.

And as for trust, credibility & more on changing hearts & minds

In recent weeks a series of violent attacks to include two LGBT related ones have come to the fore with some unexpected and disturbing outcomes with this ugly business of intimate partner violence, domestic and power differential outcomes have had some major impact, there are at least eight murders of women by men within a three week period with last night’s shooting at the Bahai Principe hotel where a woman was stabbed by a lover (she survived) at a party on property who in turn was shot by a security guard, he died later. The unprecedented amount of domestic disagreement driven murders is strange to say the least as most murder cases are more on male on male side and based on some form of gangsterism often rooted in deep sociological challenges and or as the latest major reason being lotto scamming fallout and gun play; then there are other happenings on the funding front which made the mainstream news cycle, then came that article about the EU’s grant aid in the Gleaner and the supposed non-linking of gay rights and other legal considerations if not imposition of their will in order to qualify for said aid, we however know that said considerations are as real as the air we breathe and are done behind the scenes, pay close attention to how the Justice Minister effectively sang for his supper at the same signing ceremony for the grant aid making grand announcements as preceding ministers when such large support is extended to us.

Comments, if not shouting matches, quarrels online and on air framed as discussion misguidedly have ensued on social media especially since as to how to address this disturbing trend of women being killed for the slightest thing but what is supposed to be a solutions seeking activity seems to have morphed into angry men who call talk shows blasting women’s’ groups and feminists for being too sensitive and that all lives should matter whether they are men or women, some also suggest that some of the women deserve what they get as they should be submissive and are too emboldened and they cause men to supposedly lose it. This is a slight take off from the American ‘all lives matter’ campaign which was to designed to neutralize the ‘black lives matter’ campaign after the series of murders of black men by police and the unfair harassment of African American men more so than other races. But there is something else that has come to the fore which forced me to prepare this post.

A disturbing narrative laced with deep mistrust that has made itself front and center by talk show hosts, public commentators, and print media in letters to the editor and on social media. Some women’s groups and their supporters in particular are the target of the criticisms if not castigation but other human rights groups are also targeted and named as well, this feelings in some circles have always been around which is one of the reasons not much has been achieved on the ‘gay rights’ front in terms of public advocacy and the all important crisis communications; the latter requires so much work and healing it is not funny as if the public or sections of it do not believe that the loudest voices are telling the truth then one can scream from now to the next millennia you won’t change their minds and advocacy will be seen as an imposition on others and that homophobia is justified. Antigay religious fanatics have been the loudest voices leading that charge of hidden hand in the dark seeking to impose some nastiness on the nation and these misguided groups still do have influence on a large group of Jamaicans who seem more servile to the narrative than anything else without analysing what they are being asked to subscribe to or believe.

Subtextual context

Social media has its place and can make reaching larger audiences way easier bearing in mind where we have come from in the days when traditional media refused such as the now ‘friendly’ Gleaner and indeed tabloids as the Star (owned by the new conglomerate of TVJ et al) to publish press releases or carry tolerant and or balanced items on homosexuality but the seeming over reliance on the new media platforms in the present reality often with some appearance of arrogance and barring any real world follow up only further complicates matters; real world action usually via the proverbial ‘workshop’ are done in comfortable settings such as hotels of university campuses well away from the location of the problems or in privilege which feeds the very mistrust that is the obstacle to change and not in the spaces that may require those interventions. As the women’s groups and indeed LGBT ones as well as one new outfit in particular is the main dartboard for the ‘fire’ the subtext says that these newer groups online cannot be trusted as they coin the latest buzzwords, launch hashtags, run online campaigns but have no impact on the ground in the real world. 

They put themselves in line for grant aid funding as they have the foreign grantors in their pockets and attach themselves to causes real or imagined, small or embellished so as to embarrass Jamaica and force us to change our ways and impose foreign values. The latest voice to join the throng in that department was Dennis Broox of Nationwide 90FM as he sat in for Cliff Hughes who was ill on his “Cliff Hughes Online Show” Mr Broox was not so terse as the other commentators such as a certain opposition MP and a man of the cloth who recently returned to radio show hosting on Power 106FM but Mr Broox said that he did not like how some groups are using the whole gender based or intimate partner violence buzzwords to simply get access to grant aid funding which struck me, he never named the groups in question but the usual suspects come to mind such as the 51% Coalition, WE-Change and Jamaicans for Justice (JFJ) to name a few as they have developed a bad reputation in the minds of many while launching all kinds of online campaigns they seem not to have any real effect on the ground so the cynicism comes out every time they do. Problem is that these groups are so busy often time on social media that they miss the mistrust formed about them and one wonders sometimes where they find time for real work with real people.

This business of trust or the lack thereof is something that has concerned me from my very entry into rights work and volunteerism especially in the early days of LGBT work since 1996; the hue and cry has and continue to be that gay groups are lying about homophobia to gain foreign support and that so called homophobic murders or violence are simply crimes of passion or lovers’ quarrels gone bad for the most part. 

Such conflations are walls that have not been properly surmounted but when the loudest speakers most of whom do not any real world experience to bring to bear and speak truth to their advocacy it literally rings out in the voice and in the narrative as they carry out such advocacy. In a previous post I shared some continued concerns I have on some of this as some seem to believe that just by changing laws such as the ‘buggery’ all will be well afterwards; it is quite the opposite as that is when the real work will begin if that change in law happens and if the groundwork in terms of establishing trust prior to that then the work is doubly harder thereafter.

It is really said that mistrust is still so high when trust is the glue or supposed to be the key ingredient but with a social media which aids but also poisons the goals and objectives then there are those who get carried away by mirroring, complacency and comfort in social media often unfettered and improperly managed with hashtag campaign that some think can make a universal difference; we must remember that the vast majority of Jamaicans are still not on social media and are locked into deeply comforting and justified old feelings driven by phobia and indeed hatred; real work with real people is still the most effective means of making change, face to face is still the best way especially in a world of permitted if not accepted deceit, falsehoods, bettered or altered versions of oneself on social media it is going to be difficult to penetrate some of that with just plain truth and honesty, so some resort to partaking in the farce to gain acceptance and a following. Besides despite social media’s impact on Jamaica figures show us that it is not the panacea as some want us to believe, yes more and more younger cohort of Jamaicans are using the platforms but the vast numbers of us are not even online with a basic Facebook profile let alone the others. Therefore we can conclude a lot of the campaigns really may only target and reach the converted while the campaigns fly over the heads of who are to be the intended targets.

I have said it before and I’ll say it again hashtags/tweets only last as they are allowed to and are mostly forgotten the moment another one replaces them and become short lived often not revisited as the latest hype takes over and a desire to conform drives the said short lived interest, therefore no learning and retention of what has been dispensed can be of any lasting value in order to effect contemplation and real behaviour change; hashtagging also appears to be becoming monotonous so many persons either un-follow some groups, effectively disconnecting or do not value or have long attention spans to the efforts, a point made by a media manager recently at a forum I attended. The campaign can be major turns off so, persons literally turn off on groups by discontinuing notifications to emails or their phones just to avoid the perceived annoyance. Then there is an appearance of arrogance that comes with the persons behind some of the groups due to the frequency of the posts and tweets, the choice of buzzwords & phrases plus the comments thereafter and again the mirroring phenomenon where the proverbial patting on the back ‘good job’ sentiments. Then there is the feeling by audience members of a prescriptive imperative which may be needed in some respects to force thinking towards change but it may sting of the said arrogance so it is resisted and not seen as an invitation to consider suggestions when they are made.

The very launch of that so called peace initiative in western Jamaica in a so called bid to address crimes lotto scam related was laughable in a sense. The actual launch complete with celebrities who lend their names was not done in the actual communities where it really matters where the killings and fear exist but at a five star hotel where the very residents might not be even able to pay for a night let alone a cupcake if they desired it; yet we expect to make change on the outside or in comfortable zones while expecting results. At least the church groups in March Pen alongside the Peace Management Initiatives PMI folks after those awful killings earlier this year they launched an initiative right there in the heart of the conflict in the geography where it matters most as gangs jostle for power and not at some fancy hotel as one has to be in it to win it not outside and then expect penetration afterwards to solve issues. The hotel launch was heavily criticized which also helps to feed into the mistrust that bedevils advocacy of any sort on social media as well and basically dismissed the moment as a grand show and media hype and that not much will emerge after to begin to adequately address the root causes, it made news as some suggest and I agree that location is everything including how the launch is done; that however is one part, the follow up work is next and how much money is left after salaries and administrative costs are tallied and paid out which usually end up ending and starving the efforts/initiatives in the final analysis sometimes well before the priority or scheduled dates.

The church groups in Montego Bay and other parts in western Jamaica also made sure that the marches and initiatives were done in the very geography where it matters albeit they are seen as hypocrites by some including Christians as they reactionary than proactive and while the marches and outdoor services have a psychological effect some are skeptical that as before we have these cycles, there are marches and then the thrust whittles away as the crime drops and persons find themselves in a false sense of security.

It is going to be difficult to shake off some of this belief that some NGOs and outfits are only there to use issues to enrich themselves via grant aid and with little tangible results to show in the eyes of many that only cements the mistrust in the national psyche. The reality in NGO work is that funding is always a challenge and qualifying for same can be challenging as grantors do not just dole out funds like that but how it is done and how the work appears to the public is not reassuring confidence on a larger scale; that lingering mistrust is often thrown most unfairly at others who do similar work. The very homeless MSM/transgender matter was not spared the castigation as persons like Mutabaruka have asked and are still asking why aren’t popular and powerful gay groups who get shed loads of funding seem not wanting to address their own or words to that effect. That PMI and others highly publicized press conference is another such example with the UK high commission in 2015 on MSM/transgender homelessness albeit the very homeless were absent (yet again) and not given voice with the very member of parliament in attendance yet no help can seem to come to the populations yet still after so many years of grief in New Kingston proper for the past twenty plus years of the problem. Perception is everything in the world of behaviour and legislative change; there is no way around it and truth is slowly dying or is in trouble if we believe change can come otherwise; even if it does it will be fleeting and not long lasting.

Think on these things

Peace & tolerance

H


also see:
Oh to change hearts and minds

International Day to End Violence against Sex Workers 2016

Sex Workers Outreach Project joins sex workers, allies and advocates from around the world in recognizing December 17, the International Day to End Violence against Sex Workers. As we approach this day, we come together to remember those lost this year and renew our commitment to the on-going struggle for empowerment, visibility, and rights for all sex workers.

On December 17th, We also renew our commitment to solidarity. The majority of violence against sex workers is not just violence against sex works—it’s also violence against transwomen, against women of color, against drug users, against immigrants. We cannot end the marginalization and victimization of all sex workers without also fighting trans-phobia, racism, stigma and criminalization of drug use, and xenophobia.

Day to End Violence Against Sex Workers was first recognized in 2003 as a memorial and vigil for the victims of the Green River Killer in Seattle Washington. Since 2003, Day to End Violence Against Sex Workers has empowered people from cities around the world to come together and organize against discrimination and remember victims of violence.

During the week of December 17th, sex worker communities and social justice organizations stage actions and vigils and work to raise awareness about violence that is commonly committed against sex workers. The assault, battery, rape and murder of sex workers must end. Racism, economic inequality, systems of colonialist and state violence and oppression must end. The  stigma and discrimination and criminalization that makes violence against us acceptable must end. Please join with sex workers around the world and stand against criminalization and violence committed against our communities.

Red umbrella symbol

The red umbrella is an important symbol for sex worker rights and is used for events that are held on December 17. The red umbrella symbol was first used by sex workers in Venice, Italy in 2001. Slovenian artist Tadej Pogacar collaborated with sex workers to create the "Prostitute Pavillion" and CODE: RED art installation for the 49th Venice Biennale of Art. Sex workers also held a street demonstration, the Red Umbrellas March, to protest inhumane work conditions and human rights abuses.

The International Committee on the Rights of Sex Workers in Europe (ICRSE) adopted the red umbrella as a symbol of resistance to discrimination in 2005. A corresponding march was organised as the closing event to the European Conference on Sex Work, Human Rights, Labour and Migration conference, held in Brussels, Belgium, at which almost 200 participants appeared.

Locally the Sex Workers Association of Jamaica, SWAJ seems to be dead in the water as of late, they have been silent, not a word from its President or on their social media pages yet.

Peace & tolerance

H

On World AIDS Day ....

As another World AIDS Day comes again we are left to ponder the loss of friends, colleagues and such from the related illnesses that have come over the years. Thankfully the days of said categories of persons dropping like flies in the late 1980s and 90s, when ones funeral clothes almost became uniforms as there was a service or two every month literally; the stores in downtown for example such as the now closed Rock-bottom or Hannah’s Better Buy, Lerner Shops, Ammars, Amart and others the staff could almost recognise some of us by virtue of our regular visits looking black shirts/pants/ties, dresses/hats (alongside women friends as a ‘guise to buy) for drag queens/cross-dressers and early trans-women. Some of us got so used to wearing black it became depressing, it is one of the reasons why I do not do funerals or candlelight vigils so much anymore that much as they remind me too much of those who have gone before. Like previous years we will have vigils and such again but in my near 25 years on this I am wondering if they have lost their usefulness or it is weariness on my part? Not sure, it’s starting to feel monotonous as the human component seems lost in translation but more so target meeting imperatives, statistics and analytics with social media explosion and despite these avenues rates are still high in MSM/transgender groups.

Once someone was missing from the social scene especially the folks from the lower socio-economic strata and displaced of homeless and one enquired, if the answer was there are at ward three of the Kingston Public Hospital, KPH or at the Chest Hospital for respiratory challenges, at UHWI or at someone’s house withering away as the host(s) watch helplessly then the colloquial adage would follow “dem have big A mi luv” (they have the big A as in AIDS my dear) or “dem a guh dung” (they are going down) and the inevitable would be forthcoming. The drugs or treatment courses then were not so effective then so quality of life was low, hence life expectancy as most persons I know who were taken were in their twenties or early thirties. KPH at one point became almost a holding pattern facility for persons at end stages of the disease intertwined with staff discrimination complicating matters. Some change has come since but the stigma still sits somewhere there and every now and again it rears its ugly head.

Gaëtan Dugas

At least one of the redeeming events of the year is the clearing of the ‘Patient zero’ (above) legacy and years of negative press where he was blamed for being the sole carrier and disseminating HIV in the US hence a spread. Why it took so long to right-size is yet to be properly and truthfully explained.

The side effects of the older generations of ARV or HAART such as Combivir AZT helped some but doomed others but the present first, second and third line courses are much better namely Atripla or Truvada with Efivarenz (EFV), the administration of the treatment courses especially from the regional health authorities through type 5 clinics and social workers is much to be desired frankly. The aforementioned Tenofovir as part of Atripla or Truvada in the form of Disoproxil Fumarate (TDF) is an issue for some, the newer Tenofovir Alafedamide (TAF) however that was presented as a better alternative with little migratory side effects from one to the other according to some experts was mysteriously left to the realm of treatment naive users only after much hype for the release of newer brands such as Genvoya. Many raised hopes around the world were dashed as persons who could afford it through their practitioners were exploring the migration from TDF to TAF. What has also happened to the much touted second generation maturation inhibitor that was to come to address the end stage of HIV replication and a major development in research in years? We are now hearing complaints of funding issues with research and development yet vaccine exploration in guinea pig land our dear Africa are on yet again.

The sudden stuttering of the support group meetings in St Catherine, Manchester and further westwards is one such issue also for me in terms of adherence and overall well-being, oh that continuity problem again. An pilot of sorts named ‘Brothers’ Positive on Positive’ was introduced in the lost or no-meeting times to compensate for not only continuity gap but also the missing depth of the meetings via the social workers as it turns out they are all but one evangelical Christians hence certain other sensitive subject matters are either not dealt with or are off limits and are not ventilated. Meanwhile patients are also now being asked to travel sometimes long distances to pharmacies outside their parish to fill prescriptions as dispensaries at clinics and hospitals are limiting who they are responding too albeit for the disabled, injured or critically ill persons is understandable. But ‘able-bodied’ persons as one social worker told one person recently have to go as directed to fill their prescriptions. The Drug Serv pharmacies which were designed to help offset costs are already crammed by the elderly mostly who wait for long hours as early as 5am or pay someone or ask someone to hold a space to have an early number to coincide with the 8am openings at Portmore, Union Square in Cross Roads for diabetic and hypertensive drugs mainly.

The availability of other supportive materials such as Iron tablets, B-complex capsules, Co-Trimoxazole (Bactrim) for infections of skin and so on is fickle; more amore complaints come to hand as prescriptions carry over with them not acquired although the kind doctors still write them on the list and suggest buying them. Trouble is not everyone can although they may be considered ‘cheap’ the announcement on Jamaica Information Service, JIS that more pharmacies will be added to the National Health Fund, NHF and HIV drugs to offer cheaper drugs seems calming for some but if the aforementioned clinics and dispensaries are not doling out the drugs generally and the overburdened Drugserv outlets I wonder how the government is going to fund the co-payment for private pharmacies facilitate this new dispensation according to the present health minister when we hear criticisms by even doctors of general shortages linked to or caused by “free healthcare” zapping monies from taxes. Many of us are still weary via announcement-ti-tis from previous announcements and that pharmacies closer to the patients will be made available instead of out of parish trips to fill prescriptions.

Of course the usual all is well nice rosy picture is painted by some complete with a please puss smile and altered or bettered versions individuals and entities that all is well and functioning near perfectly. Everyday some new group is around yet all of them combined cannot make one functioning unit, yet the rates are stagnant; while ‘experts’ boast about achievements on flowery worded radio and television interviews complete with farcical hypocrisy. And why are most of persons living with AIDS PLWHAs not feeling the presence of some of these groups on the ground?

Remembering good folks ................

Persons such as Leonard Officer my best friend and literally the voice for Jamaica AIDS Support (before the name adjustment of “For Life”) added at the end, hence JASL, one would call the office and his calming voice would answer the phone, even if your day was down at the time of the call the reassurance was comforting always given a warm customer experience in engaging the entity when they meant something for all intents and purposes, many can attest to this. Other friends such as former party promoter Donald “Fay Donnaway” Johnson who left us Good Friday 2001 was also one of those bubbly persons who jumped around and helped others then, including me in my difficult years 1996 post the short incarceration and three year court case on buggery; a total stranger to me prior but he turned up at Half Way Tree Court during my preliminary hearings and stuck with us (my co-accused) until the end and we with him as he died at home peacefully.

World AIDS Day indeed Human Rights work and observances of days have become monotonous to some including me, the stridency that once obtained in terms of prevention seems too relaxed and indeed populations have become too complacent given the lack of shock outcomes if you will to jolt persons into safety. As AIDS and related illnesses outcome can be controlled way better life expectancy has effectively doubled so people get or feel they can be reckless without serious consequences. But even as those matters attend ‘HIV blaming’ is also still an issue it seems as a pending court case has brought to bear. A pending court ruling slated for December 9 of a beheading case in 2012 has returned the issue front and centre.

As for the rates of infections in the midst of ever changing nongovernmental organizations growing in numbers, be they social media based or on the ground but they cannot seem to be in one accord to reduce said rates. The juxtaposing of bureaucracies, carrot baiting funders and such continue with no end in sight as the rates do not change. 32% effectively is the set number for the past 8 years since the snowball study in 2007 of MSM in Kingston in terms of prevalence rate and another 32,000 plus in the general populations are said to be unaware of their status with a prevalence rate of 1.6%, female sex workers coming from 25% down to 2.5% Mandeville and St Andrew of 201 subjects.

Homelessness via stigma, forced evictions and homophobia has surfaced at every phase of that study and others hence yet the NGO republic as is being cynically described in some circles of the intelligentsia have simply watched the problem fester and mature to a stinking sore in predominantly Kingston and elsewhere, yet very little by way of welfare has come but when HIV studies are to be conducted suddenly the populations are found and put to good use for reports and such. Then they are left to continue where they left off prior to the privileged visits. Strange that homelessness existed even before the formation of many of these NGOs some 25 years ago yet no serious answer yet, interest or the lack thereof is the elephant in the room interspersed with tokenistic gestures as feeding programs or care packages and after consuming the content the population is right back where they were found.

Coming from the days when fat lies were told to suggest MSM cannot be reached by interventions as the buggery law will interfere with such suggesting the facilitation of illegality which played right into the hands of the fanatic Christian right movement, and that issuing condoms will give a go ahead for anal sex that is illegal then we wonder why the prison riots of 1997 came to be when suggestions were made to have condoms in prisons, that has now been debunked thankfully, outside of that is the politics internationally (Tenofovir developments – TDF/TAF switch-a-roo for example) that is another matter, and as for PrEP (the chemical condom psychology ethics) that is unfolding even as I type meanwhile less persons are dying but with newer figures coming out recently of so called concerns on transgender infections rates the old figures have always been questioned especially by me, other early transgender activists and allies as the traditional ‘lumping’ of transgender in the MSM mapping as they are absorbed as gay or present as gay (male to female) and are made invisible by default or under the radar in terms of detailing specific (sub) groups. There is also the business of internal stigmatizations as for example persons are still doing this practice of taking photos of their negative test results and then cussing out or ‘bitching’ others who are positive which may help to complicate the matter if getting persons to test and safer sex eventually.

The aforementioned bureaucracy comes in here yet again as the lack of sensible programs when transgender were never engaged in any meaningful way until recently could explain why the rate was so high and stayed so for so many years. Specific groups require ‘outside the box’ responses and not the typical textbook and superficial interventions. The pigeon-holing every now and again of bisexuals as “a bridge for the virus” by epidemiologists past and present over the years outside of the creative responses and implied biphobia, bi-stigma yet bi-omissions, not to mention very little dribble regarding lesbians and risk for from program development or LGBT advocacy is just simply ridiculous and then we wonder why the rates won’t budge downwards since whenever. Simply relying on the mainstream spinoffs from traditional social marketing and adverts; commendable yes but the ‘high knowledge’ but little reactive actions problem persists. We all know that we must use condoms and while yet still very little push on abstinence or delaying sex messages, the sex industry is obviously not being engaged properly as evidenced in a recent dubious utterances by someone inside the family planning agency who are now the ones rolling out the HIV program. The P.L.A.C.E, Priorities for Local AIDS Control Efforts methodology for example has been adopted from a successful 2006 pilot which I was one of the outreach officers to cover street venues, adult clubs, tertiary level campuses, and plazas then but somehow the tailoring to our unique situations seems missing as it is just being rolled out as the text verbatim says with very little forward thinking by the powers that be, namely the country control mechanism for Jamaica and the Global Fund. Simply just having condom booths at LGBT events or hosting parities is not enough but if the people who are designing some of this are hardly not even from the populations how can they understand the issues when they refuse to learn as well.

What is next? Is the fundamental question though not openly asked by those who control the levers of the cogs of HIV, many continue the political correctness farce as a front; something has to give somehow and soon if any change is to come. When one can hear even younger folks cynical commenting “watch them” suggesting hypocritical pretence then one has to wonder what is really going on.

More anon

Peace & tolerance

H

What’s happening with “HIV blaming” driven violence?

As World AIDS Day approaches on December 1 annually and there is also talk about on gender equality work and addressing intimate partner violence there is hardly any reference to the ‘HIV blaming’ piece of it, it seems. The pending court ruling of the March 2012 scheduled for December 9 beheading case has raised the subject as the motive by the male partner of the victim who beheaded him effectively killed the man as he accused him of infecting him with HIV or in the language used AIDS. This is separate from willful targeting persons and having unprotected sex in revenge to suggest the already infected won’t be the only one with the infection; it seems what drives that level of deception is the feeling that HIV is still a death sentence when it is not so in the age of improved treatment and research; as to whether both are keeping pace with making them available is another matter.

Some strange discussions is the only way I can describe it have emerged on various media platforms with reference to two previously popular episodes as well in St James and Kingston, the latter unfolded at a party after the individual doing the blaming arrived with tests results with as we say ‘blood in his eyes’ it also shows that maybe the post test counselling in that matter was not effective enough or may not have been done if any. There is a deficiency in the support group meeting department as they are not continuous and are sometimes haphazard and in response a soon to be concluded pilot called ‘Brothers’ Positive on Positive’ tried to address and better unpack with a small group of persons. It sought to fill in some of the gaps that the only hour long sessions elsewhere do not address some of the situations adequately.

Revenge via HIV blaming ought to be a thing of the past given the strides in terms of the high knowledge of safer sex and indeed post positive treatment adherence and diet alongside the support systems now available in the national program. They still need to get the medication collection part straightened out as long waits at dispensaries outside of the social workers collecting for really ill patients or disabled persons is ridiculous. An announcement via Jamaica Information Service, JIS recently though suggests that more pharmacies will be added to the mix to offer ARVs, CART and HAART prescription filling at a discounted price, the clip never mentioned the other supportive drugs for opportunistic infections such as Co-Trimoxazole to control basic infections and skin maintenance or vitamins and so on. Probably the emphasis has been too much on condom use and or prevention and not equally on sustained quality of life. Condom pinching came up as well in an online discourse which was a bit surprising to me as we thought we had gotten over that problem but apparently not.

As persons await the judgement of the pending case many have condemned the accused men; be it the partner and his roommate who he forced to assist him in dumping the body under pain of violence as well which came out in the trial and his unsworn statement. Mistakes can happen, condoms can break, less vigilance in the heat of the moment, using oil based materials as lube or when persons realise flaw but continue through to the climax while hoping for the best can be some of the avenues for facilitating transmission; outside of assaults and non consent. Overseas cases of deliberate infections have been addressed by some countries passing legislation to deal with it but this is after the fact. A recent case with an African American man just showed the madness that can flow from such matters.

An infamous incident on the outskirts of Emancipation Park in New Kingston some years ago where a man and his supposed partner ended up in an awful clash that led to security interventions and subsequently the police in 2013; yet more evidence how sensitive matters can spill out into the streets with unneeded attention or results. Accepting the positive test results as not a death sentence and that suspected infidelity or cheating needs to be and can be dealt with more effectively via conflict resolution measures and third party possible professional interventions. Fighting or violence is not the way out, if lovers really love each other even said cheating and sometimes surprise HIV positive results they should find a way out, if not they were not lovers to begin with, in the true sense but merely in a ‘spirit tek’ farce or tolerated relationship for matters of convenience and or co-dependency.

Then with talk of transgender persons now factoring supposedly more in HIV infection rates when really they always did as far as I am concerned, given transwomen (male to female) often have integrated themselves in the men who have sex with men umbrella group as invisibility of the trans population in HIV prevention prior was almost normative. The previous results there in HIV infection rate surveys are not brought into serious doubt if not disrepute as if the lumping was so pronounced as we are now beginning to find out then a whole new rethink will have to go into the design of the HIV response to marginalised groups. The violence that may attend to that may also have to be researched properly in the ever tendentious quest for ‘evidenced based advocacy’ but if the data and collection is already flawed how does the relevant agencies solve those concerns and arrive at the true situation or as close to it?

The conflation of drag queens with gay men only when feminization forced or unforced leads to the feminine aesthetic has been an issue leading to advocates, NGOs and even funders themselves misreading the landscape. More needs to be done in conflict resolution as stated above. Legislation may have to be considered for some of this but the gay/bi male populations may get left out seeing we are already marginalised by way of an archaic 485 year old piece of theocracy in a buggery law. If we do not have legitimacy in everyday life then why focus of issues affecting us via formal governmental structures.

Then there is the matter of assault driven willful infections in the MSM/transgender mismatch as the latter is seen as gay without any reassignment surgery to boot; so many stories often unconfirmed of said abuse and assault with HIV positive alleged perpetrators and yet the reporting to police is virtually nonexistent as the gross indecency or buggery charges may attend if one tries to. This is why the amendment of buggery in as far as rape is concerned between men as rape already in law covers women as a case I often referred to in former dancehall artist Zebra who has been serving a thirty year sentence after he raped and sodomised a young lady so the jury gave him 20 years for the rape and the full 10 years for buggery.

More anon

Peace & tolerance

H

also see:

December 9 sentencing for 4 year-old gay lover beheading case in St Ann

The ‘B’ in LGBTQ stills means something

The old issue of invisibility of bisexuality in the struggle if not the discourse surrounding sexuality, rights and orientation continues, this blog may be a little guilty of it for this year at least as so many other issues have come up but several tags and posts have been made prior. The matter of bisexuals seen as confused is also very much alive despite the feeling is coming from younger LGBTians and also despite the availability of more information on social media persons still believe that people need to choose between or be either gay, heterosexual or transgender for that matter but not bisexual or have no room for such expressions with pansexuality (that most do not seem to know the difference from bisexuality) seen as an extreme.

The ball started a rolling from a workshop on sexuality in June where bisexuality was raised among other things, the conversation continued on social media and subsequently I was alerted to the furore of sorts as to what to make of bisexuals especially given that one male member of the cohort openly expressed his bisexuality and was wondering about a female partner he was thinking of a prolonged relationship given she wants a child and is also aware of his orientation none the less. It is almost annually I find myself doing these kinds of posts as the mindset change I expected seems not forthcoming. What is even more egregious is that the vitriol towards bisexuals comes from more females than males, a surprising feature to me seeing we expect women to be more sensitive to emotions and so on.

Sentiments to the effect that bisexuals want to hide their homosexual desires or experiment with homosexual sex is wrong or that they want to have their cake and eat it too which suggests sexual greed keep coming up in the sub text of it all. One woman who can be described as a lesbian said she does not want any bisexual as a partner as how could she trust them as she was not sure when they would “switch” meaning she could be dropped and a man become her replacement. Other insecurity driven sentiments also came through on the now deleted thread by the administrator of the Facebook group involved. Things got so heated that terse words and indeed curse words were exchanged. Bisexuality is still able to somehow emote such phobic or opposing responses from within the LGBT populations. Some questioned how bisexuals can settle going from the one partner at a time concept as opposed to polyandrous or polyandry relationships. Despite some interventions in terms of posts and related articles posted in the group in question some persons were just not receptive, I guess we are experiencing the misunderstanding of orientation as binary in a sense as mentioned before.

What is to be made of asexuality and given the rise in the discussion as linked to the matters of intersex and the Olympics, transgenderism where it is believed some gays are getting caught up in the novelty element of same and the aforementioned pansexuality. The sudden explosion of transgender visibility and the notion of sex reassignment as it were some young persons are misaligning orientation with aesthetics, feminization (forced or unforced) and drag culture and wanting to align with trans when in fact they are not in the final analysis. The same workshop where this bisexuality issue stemmed from also seemed to have elucidated this mix up with transgender as well. Transgender in the eyes of some is a safer haven in their eyes to avoid homophobia with the punctuated violence and seek or get comfort in that world which can lead to other challenges especially in the homeless department.

Just to reiterate it, bisexuals are not confused nor are they greedy and do not want to be seen as such and some persons are sexually attracted to both sexes, maybe one moreso than the other and that there is an abundance of information out there we must not see the kinds responses to such persons. We need to simply inform ourselves on such matters and really get a grasp of what LGBTQ actually means; and that they are not just simply cute call letters for use to identify with. Real inclusiveness if not tolerance is needed, if we are to really get some respect on all levels then said tolerance must be already demonstrably clear in our own backyards to include embracing inter/intra community differences.

Peace & tolerance

H

Historical distortions, achievements & claims of firsts

While it is not LGBT history month yet as carried on this blog and sister blog GLBTQJA I was forced in a sense to address this issue of ‘firsts’ by some of my older readers who are reading such claims made elsewhere and are asking where are the previous achievements? Persons have been picking their memories on occurrences prior. Whenever we are not interested in being guided by our history we are bound to make mistakes repeatedly and make claims of first in ignorance or misnaming said claims; how many times have we heard the old adage a people who do not know their past are doomed in the future or should use said past to inform their future. While it is commendable to a certain extent to see the push for visibility and continued work the recent claims of firsts is where I am going in terms of the pride week activities by our good friends JFLAG, someone placed on Facebook and elsewhere the claim that they hosted the first ever LGBT sports day which as it turns out is not necessarily true. In the nineteen year history of the entity of which I was apart for over some 16 years we have had some sort of sports days involving lesbian football teams, a table tennis tournament with cash prizes paid out to winners, male netball teams who play in parish tournaments with the combined teams playing overseas as well, interest also came from the Sunshine Girls in a previous dispensation of not only playing with the boys but also training with them as it aided the ladies in tightening their game.

Trouble is we are not very good at properly documenting our journey, an issue I have always had a problem with and continue to, hence this entry. It flies in the face of the aforementioned participants and their role in the slow raising of the visibility of LGBT people in Jamaica; I can recall the backlash the male netballers received when the major dailies paid some attention to them; upon winning a major championship in Trinidad the press did not want to interview them, the local parish championships at the arena fields had it share of issues, there was no social media around then to do their own press so the photos and cut outs of articles were archived somewhere are near lost or forgotten. Speaking of archives to show the lack of appreciation of journeys past and how we got here just think back to the Gay Freedom Movement archives and how they were (mis)treated; after much quarrels they were finally reposed to the co founder Larry Chang, who is also a co-founder of JFLAG. Sadly when requested of previous members of the netball teams or even the cheerleaders they either cannot find the photos or cannot be bothered to go hunting them down; then we wonder why their own legacies are being effectively white washed.

also see:

LGBT History Month: Gay Freedom Movement archives properly re-posited overseas

from the archives Gareth Henry (left) in the male netball team uniform at the Stadium east field with members of the public and LGBT populations watching

some male netballers note that all are gay in this photo

The infamous matches at the Lela Robinson netball courts or the national arena east field courts back in the day were legendary as neighbouring basketball matches would come to a stop in some instances to watch, tease, throw homophobic remarks or just express surprise at men playing netball and doing it damned good. Even school coaches would join in, in recruiting players to guide their young female teams and some former players also sojourn into coaching with one main face that is almost a fixture on quality netballing in Jamaica. The contributions of the late Steve Harvey to the coaching aspect of the sport is also not to be outdone

art display from Pridefest 2011

Then there is the issue of the claim of first Pride in 2015, a claim that rubbed some folks the wrong way in the community as what should have been the clarification is the first ‘public’ pride; to say first pride ever suggests no such activity took place prior and is a slap in the face to event planners and even JFLAG itself when previous programs managers such as Emily Paul had pride events though low keyed were marketed to the LGBT populations with various events. Under Gareth Henry’s tenure the legendary Harmonica Sunbeam performed in Jamaica to a sold out crowd in 2004 during the gaycipation weekend as we termed it then. Then there was the Pridefest initiative by the now defunct Couture Elements team of which loads of photos are available thankfully. Pridefest combined business alongside the arts and identity themes successfully; JFLAG ironically was invited to set up a booth there to which they snubbed much to the surprise of many including the organizers.

It is important that folks claiming firsts do their research ever so carefully and not end up distorting the journey as if only their tenure matters and everyone else’s part is of no moment, with heightened visibility also via social media platforms older individuals need to also tell their stories which is not being done in a large scale. The separation of community based events versus publicly done events must be defined carefully so as to present the movement of the journey if not struggle. But with bloggers with older blogs deleting said blogs as well they clearly do not understand their own contribution by that act to the distortion and only attaching themselves to present activities as if nothing happened before. We better think on these things, what timeline do we want to leave behind, one of embellishments or one of truth?

Peace & tolerance

H

also see:

LGBT History Month: Pride Fest 2011 The First Full Community Introspective

Ian Boyne on Grow Up On Gay Intolerance!

So Ian Boyne erudite commentator has hit the nail on the head again in what I see as a fair commentary; others in the LGBT circles are up in arms over his criticisms of the arrogance and reverse intolerance. It is not the first time though he had sought to point it out as posted here on Gay Jamaica Watch: The Intolerant View Of Tolerance .............

now comes his latest salvo:

flag at the US Embassy on Hope Road

No Jamaican law was violated or disrespected when the United States displayed the rainbow flag of the LGBT community on its own territory in Kingston. And rather than showing disrespect to Jamaica, the act indicated its acknowledgement of the vibrancy of our civil society and of our democratic 'articulate minority'.

Jamaicans have pointed out that the Americans dared not put up a rainbow flag in a country like Saudi Arabia or other Islamic states with Shari'a law. But that is precisely the point: The Americans know we have a strong democratic tradition and that no violent action would follow, despite the vast majority of Jamaicans' strident and visceral opposition to homosexuality (which, strictly, is not criminalized; only anal sex). They knew the dominant voices in media would push back against any popular dissent and that they could, of course, count on the visa-hungry masses to hold their tongues and violent implements in hope of entering paradise!

the tweet that started it all (not included in the Gleaner excerpt)

They were right. The attorney general has never regretted any action of hers as she has those few words proclaimed on Twitter. She has been clobbered internationally and everywhere in cyberspace. But some brave soldiers of the Gospel have come to her defence, though. I admire their courage but am less impressed with their reasoning. Helene Coley-Nicholson, president of Lawyers' Christian Fellowship (LCF), says the flying of the rainbow flag "sends an overt symbol that the United States Embassy in Jamaica is aligned with those who would break our laws".

First, Helene, embodied in the first principle of diplomacy and international relations - mutual respect - is the notion of tolerance for diversity. States do not only have relations with those whose laws, customs and ideologies are compatible with theirs. Jamaica did not break off relations with the United States when it legalized gay marriage, even though we are not aligned with that at all.

TOLERANCE, RESPECT

America has relations with countries with laws that penalise adultery, alcohol, and pork consumption, homosexuality, and which practise Internet censorship and a host of authoritarian laws. This is what happens every day among states. It is not disrespectful for friends to uphold their beliefs and practices in contradistinction to others. That's what tolerance and respect really mean: That I can freely engage my expression of preferences even when they clash with yours. This is at the heart of the democratic ethos and of respectful relationships.

LCF makes the following statement, which, on the surface, seems benign but which is deeply offensive: Conceding the fact that "the embassy is considered American territory in international law," the Fellowship nevertheless goes on to say in its release that "the LCF asks US Ambassador Luis Moreno to immediately take down the flag and in so doing eliminate potential misunderstanding", and - note this -"barriers to the natural outpouring of sympathy and support for the United States and those who have suffered". This is reprehensible and deplorable. Our people's "natural outpouring of sympathy" would be constrained by the presence of that gay flag? If that is true, we should hang our heads in shame. That is not complimentary and is not something we should broadcast. That is advertising our moral and cultural backwardness.

I submit we have a deeper problem not just in Jamaica but in the world: It is a problem of a deeply illiberal, anti-democratic, anti-pluralistic spirit. It not only afflicts conservative Christians.It afflicts supposed liberals, leftists and gay activists. The issue is not primarily hate. It is an abhorrence of tolerance, a despising of opposing views, a cherishing of bigotry. It is not only among fundamentalists. Some of these gays activists are among the most arrogant, bigoted, and democracy-averse people you can find. I declare a plague on all the houses.

The Christians in Jamaica who rightly recognise that this issue of gay rights is a political one must know how to fight political battles. They must be intellectually and strategically sharper than they have been and not keep playing into the hands of those who are enemies of the Church.

The Jamaica Coalition for a Healthy Society, like its sister organisation which Coley-Nicholson runs, also concedes that "the US Embassy is considered to be on US soil", but goes on to say in its release that "the embassy is still a guest of the Jamaican Government and is expected to conduct its affairs in a respectful manner".


GROW UP, JAMAICA!

No, it is the Jamaican people who must grow up and start respecting people's civil liberties and right to their own way of life. We don't have to force the Americans to agree with us that homosexuality is an abomination worthy of punishment in an eternal hellfire.

They should be free to proclaim their solidarity with fellow citizens who are gay, some of whom lost their lives in the nation's biggest mass-shooting massacre. They chose to grieve by showing haters that they stand in solidarity with a community they see as oppressed and despised. We can disagree and feel those people should repent of their sinful ways. That is our right to believe that. But we can't impose that on our guests, Dr Wayne West. We must show some respect and regard to our guests.

I am a conservative Christian who follows a Bronze Age book written by nomadic tribes who deemed homosexual practice unethical. But I don't believe we have any right to impose the Kingdom of God on anyone in this age. I believe we must maintain this free, pluralistic society, and we have no right to ban non-Christian expressions.

We should strive to penetrate the society with Christian ethics and to convince people that our views are right. Lucien Jones is doing a valiant job in that regard. But we must resist the temptation to theonomy and theocracy. We must learn from the excesses of the fanatical Muslims who are a threat to civilisation everywhere. (Notice I did not say 'Muslims', but 'fanatical Muslims'.)

Pastor Al Miller, in his response, was equally flawed. He pleads in a letter in theObserver on Thursday that "diplomacy requires respect and the art of understanding the customs and beliefs of those with whom one engages. The diplomat makes every effort not to offend".

So a diplomat must show respect and honour to the custom of female circumcision, Indian caste traditions, child brides, Shari'a law? In earlier times, should respect have been shown to foot binding, duelling, etc? Should apartheid have been respected because it was law? Was Mandela immoral to defy it? Al Miller feels that the flying of the rainbow flag "can only be interpreted as a deliberate act of provocation". Provocation to what? You realise what you are saying, Rev? He says it was a "deliberate slap in the face of the Jamaican community". Well, again, we should be ashamed if that is so.

It's no slap in my face if someone wants to affirm his homosexuality or show solidarity with the gay community. As long as I am allowed to have my Stone Age belief that homosexuality is wrong and worship my Invisible Friend in the sky, the Flying Spaghetti Monster, as the New Atheists would say, that's okay. Fly your gay flag anywhere but my premises and I am okay. Problem is that it is not just the Christian fundamentalists who pose a threat to liberal values. Increasingly, so-called liberal societies are free-speech terrorists.

The June 4-10 issue of The Economist has a cover story, 'Free Speech Under Attack', which makes interesting reading. In its editorial, it notes that "the idea has spread that people and groups have a right not to be offended. That may sound innocuous. But if I have a right not to be offended, that means someone must police what you say about me or about things I hold dear such as my ethnic group, my religion." Gays are principal offenders, wanting to insulate themselves against so-called hate speech and offensive language.

Some gays would just as soon shut down all opposition, citing homophobia and hate to mask their own intolerance. An illiberal, intolerant spirit is growing on all sides. It must be firmly resisted. Let a hundred flowers bloom - along with the weeds. Democracy detractors, go home!

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

also see:

Gays' Threat To Free Speech ........... veteran journalist Ian Boyne .. 2012