JAMAICA Government To Develop Programmes For Homosexual Youth.....Youth Minister Lisa Hanna made the announcement to address issues affecting various sections of the youth population including Lesbians, Gays, Bisexual and Transgendered (LGBT) individuals.

Lisa Hanna

The Government says it is in the process of developing new services, initiatives and programmes to address issues affecting various sections of the youth population including Lesbians, Gays, Bisexual and Transgendered (LGBT) individuals. 

Youth Minister Lisa Hanna made the announcement while speaking yesterday morning at the Panos Caribbean Stakeholder Conference. 

She says new targeted intervention is necessary, if the Government is to adequately and effectively address the challenges, concerns and needs of the different types of youth her ministry serves. 

Some of the other groups include Men who have sex with Men (MSMs) and youth with sexual orientation and gender identity issues. 

Hanna explains that given the lack of data on LGBT youth, today's stakeholder consultation is timely as it will provide the youth ministry with a better understanding of what the issues are. 

She insists that the Government’s duty is not only to provide shelter and protection for abandoned and abused children but also therapeutic intervention to address the physical and psychological harm they have suffered. 

Hanna says it is clear that there will also have to be what she calls a resetting of the mind and of the way in which people are treated. more