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HIV/AIDS makes children pariahs

By Andrea Downer

The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) , lists HIV/AIDS as one of the factors that contribute to the exclusion of Jamaican children from mainstream society. The agency’s State of the World’s Children 2006 Report, which was released recently, states that of the 977,000 Jamaican children under the age of 18 in Jamaica, thousands of them will be left out.

Children are considered excluded if they are not protected from violence, abuse, exploitation; if they are unable to access benefits and essential services and if they are unable to participate fully in society.

A Situational Analysis which focuses on excluded children in Jamaica was also released by UNICEF and forms part of the 2006 report. In addition to HIV/AIDS, the report lists child labour, institutionalised care, poverty, mental and physical disabilities, teenage pregnancy and late or no birth registration as some of the factors which cause children to be excluded.

According to the report, in 2004, children 0-19 years old accounted for 9 per cent of Jamaican’s HIV/AIDS cases. Young people 20-29 years old are said to account for 19 per cent of the island’s HIV/AIDS cases - a cumulative total of 28 percent. The report found that AIDS is the second leading cause of death in children aged 1-4 years and states that adolescent girls are increasingly vulnerable, particularly those deprived of information, skills and services. Girls 10-19 years are almost three times more likely to become infected with HIV than a boy of the same age. This is as a result of physiological and social factors. Girls tend to begin having sex earlier than boys; the average age of sexual initiation being 15 years for boys and 13 years for girls.

The report also found that 50 percent of young women report having sex with partners who are 5 to 10 years older than them. The report states that the high rate of forced sex experienced by girls also makes them vulnerable to becoming infected with HIV/AIDS. Twenty per cent of girls reported that were forced into having sex. The report states that life-skills based education is not yet a part of the national curriculum.

It is estimated that AIDS orphans more than 20,000 Jamaican children. While not living with the virus, orphaned children, made vulnerable by HIV/AIDS, suffer from poor nutrition, lack of schooling and trauma from witnessing the death of a family member. Stigma and discrimination undermine family and community support, and often further marginalize non-infected children who are sent to children’s homes in isolation from their peers. This damages their emotional and emotional and psychological development as well as their re-integration in the society.

The report quotes a 2002 study, which found that there were 16,240 children between 5 and 17 years involved in economic activities. Children between 15 and 17 years account for 7.5 percent of that amount. More boys than girls were among that age group. It is estimated that 2,000 of the island’s children live and work on the streets. The report states that the work the children are engaged in is often not in contradiction with the standards of International Labour Organisation, but that they often work in the informal sector under very precarious conditions and with little opportunities for further development.

In 2005, there were 2,572 children living in residential institutions and 274 in correctional institutions. UNICEF says children in institutions grow and develop without family care, love and support and are often more vulnerable to abuse. This makes it difficult for them to adjust to society when they become adults and undermines their capacity to establish stable foundations for emotional, social and economic development.

The report found that children are over-represented in poverty, which causes them to miss out on key developmental opportunities. According to UNICEF, almost one of every two Jamaican who lives in poverty is a child. Children in rural areas are most affected, with more than 25.6 percent of them living in poverty. It is felt that children living in poverty in Jamaica are more at risk of missing out on secondary education.

Ninety-eight percent of Jamaica ’s children between 4-14 years are enrolled in school; the rate drops to 89 percent in 15-16 year olds and plummets further to 47.8 percent among 17-18 year olds. Twenty five percent of children from the island’s poorest families are out of school by age 16; in contrast, only 2.2 percent of children from the country’s wealthiest families discontinued school at age 16. Daily attendance at school by children from the poorest families was 62 percent, which is significantly lower than national average of 92.5 percent. It was found that about 62 percent of the absences were due to “lack of money.”

More than 37,000 (3.86 per cent) Jamaican children live with one or several forms of disabilities. While the majority of the children are in the 5-14 age group and thus are of school age, only 10 percent of children with disabilities are enrolled in the formal school or learning system. The report found that the level of stigma facing children with disabilities continues to be a major contributor to exclusion. A UNICEF-supported study found that some parents viewed the birth of a disabled child as having supernatural connections. Forty percent said the child was “sent by God” while 18 percent thought the disability was due to an evil spirit, punishment for sin or looking at a disabled person during pregnancy.

Approximately 20 percent of births are given by adolescents. According to UNICEF, a birth by a child puts two children at risk as teenage pregnancy often leads to complication in pregnancy and delivery, lack of care and support for the new born and in many cases, exclusion from educational and professional opportunities for the young mother. Only 34 percent of adolescent mothers return to school after giving birth. It is felt that lack of life and professional skills push young mothers into transactional sexual relationships with multiple partners to obtain the resources necessary to support their children and themselves. This further increases the mother’s vulnerability to exploitation and domestic violence, as well as child abuse.

A 2004 study found that about 10 per cent of births are not registered within the first year of life. The right to immediate registration continues to be violated despite the fact that since 2000 more than 96 percent of Jamaica ’s children were born in hospitals. Children who are not registered are less likely to be provided appropriate care and protection as their existence is not documented – they are invisible. Birth registration may be needed for access to placement in school and treatment at hospital. It also affects planning and provision of critical services such as immunization and education and estimates of vital statistics.

The report acknowledges that over the last three years, Jamaica has made significant efforts to improve the protection of children. However, UNICEF said more needs to be done to eliminate the root causes of exclusion and the factors that make children invisible. UNICEF recommends that access to services for adolescents, including voluntary and confidential testing for HIV/AIDS must be quickly expanded, increased HIV/AIDS interventions and efforts to decrease associated stigma and discrimination. The agency also recommends the implementation of the recommendations of the National Task Force on Education, which should significantly improve the quality of education that children receive. There should also be increased focus on familial care as well as better parenting programmes.