Human rights as safeguarding: the schooling experiences of HIV+ children in Jamaica

Abstract

The interface between HIV/AIDS, education and human rights is an important issue in Jamaican society. The spread of HIV/AIDS in the Caribbean is second only to that in Africa, and Jamaica itself has the second highest numbers of HIV+ individuals within the Caribbean region. Using a qualitative methodology, this exploratory study aimed to discern the schooling experiences of HIV+ children and young people in Jamaica. Despite reported high levels of stigma and discrimination within society itself, there was no evidence of children and young people experiencing discrimination at school as a result of their HIV+ status due to the absence of relevant national laws on anti-discrimination or due to the failure, of any adult, to act on relevant policies aimed at safeguarding them.

Keywords:

• HIV
• AIDS
• human rights
• education
• children
• Jamaica

Notes

1. Jamaica is a signatory to the following international legislations and treaties: the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR); the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR); the Convention on the Elimination of all forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW); the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC); and the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (CERD).

2. The Host School Programme is administered by the Ministry of Education, Guidance and Counselling Unit. Under this programme, where a child's HIV/AID status has been found out and where he/she can no longer exist peacefully in his/her school, the ministry arranges a ‘managed move’ where the child and his/her family is relocated to a new school and where appropriate may be relocated to a new community.

3. The HFLE curricular is concerned with both knowledge and skills acquisition for early childhood, primary and the secondary phase, and is a most important strategic development and needs to be adequately monitored and evaluated including for learning outcomes in key areas such as relationships and sexuality.