Jodi Sinclair
Jodi is a 23-year-old woman with learning disabilities who lives in a large Alberta city with her 4 year old son. Jodi works as a full-time mother caring for her son and her current boyfriend’s 7 year old son, and receives AISH, a child tax benefit, and sporadic child support payments from her ex-boyfriend. Jodi dropped out of high school because of bullying, and did not receive any sexual education. Her first exposure to information about STIs was when her girlfriend got herpes and the doctor at the clinic explained STIs to her. Jodi met the father of her son when she was 18, and soon became pregnant. She survived an armed home invasion when she was 9 months pregnant, which prompted Child and Family Services (CFS) involvement. CFS tried to apprehend her son shortly after birth, and has constrained Jodi’s dating life by placing visitation restrictions on her boyfriends. Recently Jodi had the negative experience of being drugged and sexually assaulted by her friend. She is also in the midst of a stressful court case with the paternal grandmother of her son, who is trying to obtain custody by emphasizing Jodi’s disability. The most difficult challenge for Jodi is being in public with her son, because she faces harsh ridicule and judgement for her youthful appearance. Jodi is so negatively affected by this ridicule that she is scared to go out with her son, and as a result is very socially isolated.