The Jamaica Coalition for a Healthy Society (JCHS) has commended health minister Dr Christopher Tufton for his decision to amend the HIV/AIDS Confidential Reporting Form, which he noted does not comply with the existing constitutional and legal structures of the Jamaican government.
The minister’s decision follows an observation made by Dr. Daniel Thomas, president of the Christian advocacy group Love March Movement, recently. Dr. Thomas noted that in addition to the the generic male and female identifiers given at birth, other options such as “male to female transgender” and “female to male transgender” were included on the form. Persons were also given the option to specify whether they subscribed to “other” genders.
The JCHS approved the stance taken by Dr. Tufton, although it recognises that the form is a part of the national HIV surveillance system and the information provided in response to the questions assists in the provision of care to affected individuals.
“The JCHS notes that the risk of HIV is linked to sexual practices, not to a person’s concept of his or her identity. Why then were these extraneous terms included? Who authorised the inclusion of these terms? To have allowed these words on the form would have meant an explicit acceptance of the false narrative that persons can change their genders,” the faith-based organisation said.
In addition to amending the HIV/AIDS confidential reporting form to ensure it is in full compliance with Jamaica’s legal framework, Dr. Tufon has also requested that a full review be done of all forms and instruments for data collection to ensure they conform with all legal and policy directives of the Government of Jamaica.