A National Family Planning Board (NFPB) online messaging platform that provides children with responses to sexual and reproductive health issues has enraged a Christian youth group and the National Parent-Teacher Association of Jamaica (NPTAJ) who say it is promoting deviant sexual behaviour and are demanding that it be removed.

Additionally, Love March Movement and the parents lobby group want the Ministry of Health and Wellness to re-examine the NFPB’s relationship with international organisations that support its programmes.

The chatbot, Yute Chatz, was launched in January this year in partnership with United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and U-Report Jamaica. It provides information to children 13 years and older about contraceptives, pregnancy, HIV, sex, mental health, and more.

Love March Movement President Dr Daniel Thomas said that in his interaction with the platform he noticed that inappropriate conversations about sex and sexuality were taking place with children without parental supervision or consent.

“From the very outset it is introducing concepts related to gender and sexuality that are outside of the norm for Jamaican society and culture. For example, the concept of being not male, and not female with a third category as [non-binary]. Asking 13-year-olds if they are otherwise than male and female is inappropriate,” said Dr Thomas, whose group advocates sexual purity and the family.

“Providing information relating to what we would consider in our society as deviant sexual behaviour and treating it as normal behaviour, talking about abstinence, but in a way that normalises fingering and things like that, those things are inappropriate,” Dr Thomas told the Jamaica Observer.

He added that the chatbot also advises users to seek further information from organisations such as LGBT rights group J-Flag.

“We’re not going to stand for this kind of approach,” Dr Thomas said and demanded that the Ministry of Health remove the platform by July 1.

“We’re asking them to remove it and also to re-examine every single decision that has been taken by the National Family Planning Board in association with these international organisations,” he said.

“We understand that it is being dissolved, but there are concerns that the ideas and strategies will be incorporated into the mainstream Ministry of Health,” he told the Sunday Observer.

In March this year, the NFPB issued a news release in which it described the platform as a “technological innovation that puts sexual and reproductive health responses in the hands of the primary users, ages 13 to 24”.

It stated that “the content and navigation was meticulously researched and evaluated to ensure appropriateness and accuracy”.

The NFPB added that, according to findings in the Adolescent and Youth Rapid Assessment, young people want information that will guide their decision-making, and “with the confidentiality and convenience of the chatbot, the reliance on their friends and less than accurate online sources are lessened.”

It said that the platform would make the “uncomfortable conversations that parents dread much less intimidating” and parents were urged to use the information provided via the chatbot to obtain information needed to have these discussions with their children.

However, NPTAJ President Stewart Jacobs demanded that the chatbot be suspended until there is a conversation with the organisation and other stakeholders about the way forward.

“There has to be a modus operandi that both entities are in agreement with that our children can be exposed to this and can be engaged in these kinds of [conversations]. It cannot be that somebody sits down and is offering our children advice on a type of lifestyle that is contrary to what we as the parents believe in,” said Jacobs.

“We always welcome anything that is going to enable children, parents, and the wider society to communicate. However, this comes with some level of responsibility and respect for social order, and if the app we speak of is going to, in any way, deter the best thinking and practices of our Jamaican society, then there has to be some method of altering it or adjusting it so that it will be one that is child-friendly and socially friendly,” he told the Sunday Observer.

Jacobs further urged parents to interact with the platform.

“Not because it’s coming from the ministry… makes it infallible. Parents have to be vigilant and responsible to make sure that any sort of material that is engaging their children, they must be immersed in it to determine whether or not their children should be exposed to it. If they should see anything that is contradictory to what they want for their children, have it sterilised,” he said.

Dr Thomas further referenced an open letter from the Jamaica Umbrella Group of Churches (JUGC) to the Ministry of Health and Wellness that stated members were horrified and concerned about the approach of the NFPB and demanded action from the Government.

“It is inappropriate, and it is horrifying, as the Jamaica Umbrella Group of Churches has stated, and it cannot be tolerated in our modern-day society. This is not America, this is not Europe; this is Jamaica. The material being put to our children should be in consultation with the parents of Jamaica,” said Dr Thomas.

“The information that is being brought to our children should be brought through the appropriate channels. Discussions should be had with different organisations and stakeholders with regard to our children, and parents should be informed. It should not feel as though the Government is providing sexual health information to our children that is against what we believe, circumventing and cutting us out of the picture,” he stressed.

“What it is doing is undermining the culture of Jamaica, undermining parental consent and the right for parents to guide their children appropriately. Every well-thinking Jamaican should be outraged about this thing,” said Dr Thomas.

The JUGC, in its open letter, had said that while the initiative appears well-intentioned, there are troubling aspects of the app that warrant urgent attention.

“As an organisation, we are troubled by the inclusion of a non-binary gender option and the promotion of medical transitioning as a normal procedure to teenagers. The promotion of potentially life-altering decisions to a vulnerable group is a significant departure from our local majority consensus on morally acceptable choices,” the JUGC said.

“It is even more troubling when we see societies, such as the United Kingdom, moving to ban puberty blockers and access to minors to transitioning procedures. Adolescents should be provided with accurate information about reproductive health in a manner that respects their developing understanding of self-identity, and cultural norms and family values,” the church group argued.

“Further, the referral of children with sexuality issues to J-Flag (rebranded as Equality Ja), an organisation known for its advocacy of transgender rights, raises serious questions about the appropriateness of the advice provided through this app,” the JUGC said.

“While it is essential to support individuals struggling with their sexual orientation or gender identity, it is equally important to ensure that they receive guidance from qualified professionals, who can offer comprehensive support tailored to their needs,” the group argued.

It also said it noted the international move away from puberty blockers to treat gender dysphoria among young people, and urged the Government “to take a strong stand against the undermining of our traditional values, and to take the moral leadership that is its responsibility, including disentangling State agencies from engagement and partnership with all forms of unacceptable behaviours”.

“We further call on the the Ministry of Health and Wellness to thoroughly review the contents of the Yute Chatz chatbot and take steps to end the promoting of certain ideologies and medical procedures to impressionable young people.

“Outside of our moral position, research has shown the result of certain life-altering decisions on children, including mental health breakdowns and self-harm. We encourage the Ministry of Health and Wellness to involve the National Parent-Teacher Association, the Guidance Counsellors Association, and the Jamaica Teachers’ Association in the review process to ensure that the app aligns with the country’s cultural norms and values,” the JUGC said.