THE ST. James Parish AIDS Action Committee is investigating a case where a little girl, said to be HIV-positive, is being deliberately isolated by the school she attends.
Speaking with The Gleaner recently, Donna Marie Hamilton-Ross, chairperson of the St. James Parish AIDS Action Committee, said she will be targeting the school with sensitisation workshops. Reports are that the little girl is being kept on a bench where she has limited contact with others.
In the meantime, the AIDS action committee is also warning schools that it will take stronger action such as publicising the names of schools which mistreat HIV-positive children.
"We are no longer going to hide the names of schools that mistreat children. If we are unable to repair the mistreatment in the schools, we will do what you say 'call down crowd on them'. We don't have a law to lock you up but we have respect in your community and we will use that against you. We are going to put some teeth into our actions," Ms. Hamilton-Ross said.
MANAGING HIV IN SCHOOL
Currently, several private or independent schools in western Jamaica are being educated about the management of HIV in school and workplace policy with a view to reducing the numbers of children who are being sent home or mistreated by schools because of their or their relatives' HIV status.
Mrs. Hamilton-Ross said her organisation, in collaboration with the Education Ministry, people living with HIV and various non-governmental organisations working in HIV, have started to have workshops with various schools.
On June 8, 50 persons, including teachers and administrators from 10 schools, were familiarised with the management policy, as well as facts about HIV transmission and prevention.
"I think the message got through but we will have to wait and see," she said.
Ms. Hamilton-Ross said there are plans to expand the sensitisation to other parishes.
EDUCATING STAKEHOLDERS
She is also currently helping to educate stakeholders about the Draft National HIV Policy. The National HIV/AIDS Control and Prevention Programme is currently holding sensitisation workshops on the policy in various parishes.
In February, Ms. Hamilton-Ross said an independent school in St. Ann and another in St. Mary, sent home two children because they were HIV-positive. Less than a week later, Jamaica AIDS Support (JAS) reported that two more children had been sent home, this time in St. Catherine and Kingston.
The policies and guidelines set out by the Ministries of Health and Education under the HIV management policy for schools said that no school should turn students away for this reason. However, the Education Ministry admitted in March that private institutions have autonomy although they operate within the guidelines and framework of the Ministry of Education.
- T.S.
