Although sex work is scoffed at by many in the society–especially because of the need to maintain the perception of a moral society on account of Jamaica’s notoriety as home to the most churches (in the world) per square mile–The reality is, sex work is a common source of income for poor women, and is becoming increasingly so for poor men.

As humans we have a natural instinct to survive–sex workers see their job as their means of survival, but the fact that it is illegal in Jamaica presents significant challenges in relying on it as a means of supporting the growth and development of self and family.

I find it pretty funny listening to people casting judgments on sex workers, because they feel that it was a deliberate choice–many of us with our tunnel views refuse to see how our Government is responsible. Our Government has a responsibility to provide the resources necessary to prepare the work force for the specific kinds of employment that are available and  it is also responsible for ensuring that work is available and accessible to All. Therefore, rather than casting judements on sex workers’ employment choice, let us, as responsible citizens, implore the Government of Jamaica to stop for a moment and critically assess the capacity of the Jamaican poor to respond to the demands of the labour market. Further, I ask us all to consider, what are we really doing, as a society, to guarantee secure, rewarding, and meaningful employment for Jamaica’s poor?

It is real difficult for me not to throw personal experiences into this picture, especially because I am still a youth, which is quite the contrary to what my birth country, Jamaica, will recognize, as our youth age ends at 24 years. The National Youth Services (NYS), National Centre for Youth Development (NCYD), and other state agencies and ministries do not recognize me as youth, although I am at the regional level. This means that young people in the 25- 30 age cohort in Jamaica have been left out on a limb. We are not morally accepted as adults, and we are not legally recognized as youth. What a conundrum?

In Jamaica the overwhelming majority of those who are unemployed are youth, with employment trending upwards as you move from the youngest, 14 years, to the oldest youth age, 30 years. I must say that in my almost 11 years as a working youth I have not seen or experienced much changes.

Youth work often times limits and predisposes employees to: entry level positions and assistants posts; low remuneration compared to the actual responsibilities of youth and what they generally qualify for; reluctance of agency and organizational leaders to hire youth in leadership positions that they are qualified and experienced for; use of stigmatizing terms to refer to youth in employment, e.g. young Tom come and carry out the coffee; unequal pay and benefits compared to an adult in the same position with the same responsibilities and qualification; disproportional representation of youth in all levels of work and national leadership; and exploitation of youth time in promise for sustainability.

I attended the Commonwealth Youth Lecture (Jamaica) 2008 at the Courtleigh Auditorium on Thursday, October 9. The theme for the event was: “Youth Mainstreaming: The Key to National Development.” It was at this lecture that I encountered the term youth work in Dr. Fatiha Serour’s presentation. Its usage immediately struck a chord in my brain, and it was like giving voice to something that was once mute. On hearing the term, I reached to my friend next to me and said, “Youth work, I never knew that youth do a different kinda work from adults? ” It really woke me up!

Dr. Fatiha Serour

I immediately turned my eyes to the agenda in hand and the presenters who were sitting immediately before me–the most significant role was being played by an adult. While I respect Dr. Serour and found several valuable lessons from her lecture, I believe that she too has contributed to the marginalization of the youth–a key issue which she articulates in her presentation. Looking at the agenda from a youth work perspective, all roles, except that of the Lecture, were entry level and assistants posts–they were all played by youth: welcome, prayer, greetings, cultural item, introduction of speaker, and the vote of thanks. The young man who introduced Dr. Serour even introduced her as a youth–what a calamity?

When will young people wake up and see that they are marginalized in work because the adults refuse to make employment standardized and equally accessible and available despite age, creed, race, religion, etc. Can you imagine that in this day and age, Jamaica a western country, roughly 200 miles outside of the United States of America, does not have an equal employment opportunity Act? Further more, there is absolutely no nondiscriminatory clause to address issues of youth and religion in the Equal Work for Equal Pay Act. What an archaic state of affairs?

We, the youth, need to envision the day when we will be delivering the Commonwealth Youth Lecture, when we have eliminated the concept of youth work, and are able to stand in equality with adults in employment. If we fail to do this, we will fail to exist, as Dr. Serour said in her presentation, the face of poverty was once a woman’s, now it is the face of a Youth. Young people, get up and stand up for your rights!

Greetings, Minister of State

Cultural Item, Commonwealth Youth Lecture, Jamaica, 2008

Introduction of Speaker, Youth Ambassador

Vote of Thanks, Youth Ambassador

In order to accurately test and compare experiences aimed at measuring justice, there is a definite need to conduct the survey across different socioeconomic communities. The challenge though, is that the Project targets poor/impoverished communities, so comparison is done amongst apples only, rather than between apples and grapes.

The main thrust for the recent edit of the questionnaire was to center the household head as main subject of the survey. The profile of the head as male or female was a matter of much interest, as there was now a need to know if male and female headed households had different experiences. When will the inter-class research and comparison on experiences of socioeconomic justice commence? The experiences are markedly different there. Even by mere observation one can see the difference between Barbican, West Gate Hills, and Liguanea on the one hand and Springfield, Albion Mountain, and Fletcher’s Land on the other hand in terms of their: housing stock, road conditions, access to security services, quality of schools, levels of crime, and access to work.

An efficacious strategy that is geared at measuring socioeconomic justice, at the national level, must have as its target poor, affluent, urban, rural, and minority communities, not an emphasis on one set at the expense of others. View the updated survey… Social and Economic Justice Situation Survey