Jamaica bans sex ed curriculum after protests

KINGSTON - The Associated Press

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Jamaica’s education minister has banned a sexual education curriculum that touched upon homosexuality following protests by parents in the conservative Caribbean country.
 
Ronald Thwaites says he considers certain sections inappropriate for any age and ordered that the curriculum developed with help from UNICEF and the United Nations be rewritten.
 
The curriculum targeted seventh and eighth grade students and asked them questions including if they have ever had anal sex and if they knew the HIV status of their partners.
 
Thwaites said late Friday that his ministry’s values are based on Christian principles and that it promotes compassion and tolerance.
 
Jamaica still enforces a colonial-era sodomy law that bans sex between men.