Another call is being made for Barbadians to stop engaging in reckless sexual behaviour.
Minister of People Empowerment and Elder Affairs Kirk Humphrey told the Sun On Saturday yesterday that concern was raised by officials in the Ministry of Health and Wellness.
“We’ve seen it in our conversations with young people, we’ve seen the attitude toward sexual behaviour, and we’ve seen it with the older population. I can only ask Barbados to heed because a few seconds of pleasure is not worth the longterm consequences,” Humphrey said during the closing ceremony of the Ashley Lashley Foundation Eco Fit Youth Programme at Wildey House, Wildey, St Michael.
He encouraged individuals engaging in “certain activities” to protect themselves and also admonished those who exhibited discriminatory behaviour towards people with HIV.
Discrimination
“I ask Barbadians to cut it out because the truth is we have a number of things. One, we want to raise a population that is morally sound, and we want to raise a population that is healthy. We’ve seen a level of discrimination in Barbados on every level. There’s too much discrimination in a country whose history is built on people of
colour being discriminated against. When certain things happen, we have to respect the people whose circumstances have led them to it,” he said.
Humphrey said Government had for decades put enough policies in place to ensure they could take care of the increase in finances.
However, he said although he had not seen the statistics, “anecdotal conversations suggested that the behaviours could lead to an increase”.
These statements echo concerns raised earlier this week by Sade Leon Slinger-Folkes, a community health educator with the Ministry of Health. She also raised the red flag on sexual practices and called for both partners to be tested together.
“Unless you’re tested as a couple, we have no permission, none whatsoever, to be able to pass on any information to anybody,” she explained. (AJ)
