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Danielle Toppin's blog

Empowering Adolescents to Make Wise Sexual Choices

By Danielle Toppin, RH Reality Check, Caribbean

January 5, 2009 - 8:00am

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While acknowledging the "cultural context" in which many students live, Jamaican Minister of Education Andrew Holness has refused to supply students with condoms in the schools.

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One Girl's Story of Living with HIV

By Danielle Toppin, RH Reality Check, Caribbean

November 11, 2008 - 8:00am

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In a series of diary entries for the Jamaica Gleaner, a young woman living with HIV relates the often neglected psychological effects of HIV infection and young motherhood.

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Against Backdrop of Sexual Violence, Ads, Too, Exploit Young Teens

By Danielle Toppin, RH Reality Check, Caribbean

October 14, 2008 - 7:00am

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Against a wider backdrop of sexual violence being committed against, and perpetrated by, children and adolescents, the sexualization of under-aged teenagers in Jamaica is extremely problematic.

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In Jamaica HIV Affects More than Just Health

By Danielle Toppin, RH Reality Check, Caribbean

August 16, 2008 - 8:29am

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In a cultural climate with too many examples of stigma and discrimination against people living with HIV, a proposed plan in Jamaica to protect the right of HIV-positive workers could symbolize a major step in the way the country treats this key issue.

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Jamaican Health Official Calls for Sex Work Decriminalization

By Danielle Toppin, RH Reality Check, Caribbean

July 7, 2008 - 7:00am

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A senior public health official in Jamaica recently called for decriminalization and taxation of commercial sex work. Other government officials decried the proposal, but have few effective suggestions of their own.

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Taking 'Baby Mothers' For Granted

By Danielle Toppin, RH Reality Check, Caribbean

May 20, 2008 - 7:00am

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Because we live in societies that conceive of motherhood as "natural," policymakers haven't created adequate support systems for our diverse needs.

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When Bodies Become War Zones

By Danielle Toppin, RH Reality Check, Caribbean

May 6, 2008 - 5:30am

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Gender activists in Jamaica have noted the persistence of strong links between community-based violence and rape.


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Domestic Violence Is an RH Issue

By Danielle Toppin, RH Reality Check, Caribbean

April 11, 2008 - 8:51am

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The presence of violence - be it emotional, physical or sexual - diminishes the ability of healthy individuals to demand healthy sexual relationships, and by extension a healthy sense of self.


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Jamaica's Flawed Abortion Laws

By Danielle Toppin, RH Reality Check, Caribbean

March 28, 2008 - 8:44am

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Illegal abortions are one of the top ten causes of maternal death in Jamaica. Safe, legal abortions are only accessible to those who can afford one. Existing abortion "common law" in Jamaica is ambiguous and differs than legislation on the books. Jamaica is in the midst of a heated abortion debate.


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Child Brides: In Jamaica, Too

By Danielle Toppin, RH Reality Check, Caribbean

March 4, 2008 - 7:48am

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Although ideas regarding men's right to ownership over 'their' women in intimate relationships can be found across communities, the practice of cohabitation between under-aged females and older men is predominantly found in communities marked by poverty.


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