An uphill battle against AIDS in Indonesia<\/p>\n
Thang D. Nguyen, Jakarta<\/p>\n
Of all the places in the world that he could be on Dec. 1 this
\nyear for World AIDS Day, Peter Piot, the head of UNAIDS, chose to
\nbe in Jakarta, Indonesia.<\/p>\n
The reason, he said, is that he would like to see more
\nattention paid to Asia, where the level of AIDS infection is
\nincreasing at a faster rate than ever before. As Southeast Asia's
\nlargest country and the world's fourth-largest population,
\nIndonesia has become \"the new frontline of an AIDS epidemic\".<\/p>\n
\"When I look at Indonesia from a global perspective, I would
\nsay that there's no doubt that Indonesia is in the early stage of
\nan AIDS epidemic,\" said Piot earlier this week.<\/p>\n
A look at the current rate of HIV\/AIDS infection in Indonesia
\nsupports this view. As of September this year, the Indonesian
\nMinistry of Health showed that about 8,251 Indonesians are living
\nwith AIDS.<\/p>\n
According to experts from both Indonesia and abroad, however,
\nthe real figure can be from 90,000 to 250,000. Given the size of
\nIndonesia, where public awareness of HIV\/AIDS is poor, it is easy
\nto understand why it is difficult to collect data and come up
\nwith an accurate number of Indonesians currently infected with
\nHIV\/AIDS.<\/p>\n
Whatever the real figure is, the Indonesian government has
\nrealized that HIV\/AIDS is yet another war -- among others like
\nterrorism and poverty -- it has to fight. As part of its national
\ncampaign against HIV\/AIDS, the government has promoted the use of
\ncondoms and sterile needles -- as unsafe sex and needle-sharing
\nare two major ways through which AIDS is transmitted.<\/p>\n
This campaign is not so successful, however, for a number of
\nreasons. First, aside from preventing unwanted pregnancy and
\ntransmitted diseases (or STDs), condoms play a major role in the
\nprotection against HIV\/AIDS, but they themselves are not enough a
\nweapon in the fight against this global epidemic.<\/p>\n
In other words, the use of condoms must be accompanied by both
\nsex education and public awareness of AIDS. The reason is
\nindividuals -- minors and adults alike -- are less likely to use
\ncondoms unless, and until, they understand the importance of
\nusing them and the consequences of not using them. More
\nimportantly, they need to know how to use them.<\/p>\n
Unfortunately, many young Indonesians either are not educated
\nabout sex or receive sex education late. According to a Durex-
\nsponsored global sex survey this year, Indonesians start to
\nreceive sex education at 14.4 years of age, compared to a global
\naverage of 13.2 years. The same poll also shows that 40 per cent
\nof Indonesians have unsafe sex without knowing their partners'
\nsexual history.<\/p>\n
Second, many Indonesians don't use condoms because their
\nleaders -- religious or otherwise -- advise them not to do so. It
\nsounds unlikely, but there are Indonesians who hold
\nauthoritative, senior positions that don't believe in the use of
\ncondoms. One of them, for instance, is Adhyaksa Dault,
\nIndonesia's State Minister for Youth and Sports Affairs.<\/p>\n
\"I don't agree that we should promote condom use as a way of
\npreventing HIV\/AIDS. That's not the way. It's more about how to
\nsteer our young people away from promiscuity,\" he was quoted by
\nAntara as saying.<\/p>\n
Similarly, during World AIDS Day events in Jakarta in 1996,
\nthe wife of the then Minister of Youth and Sports said: \"Don't
\ncommit adultery or you will make your innocent babies AIDS
\nvictims (sic).\"<\/p>\n
It is obvious that messages like these are counterproductive
\nto Indonesia's campaign against AIDS. If anything, they beget a
\nmyth that sex with different partners, or promiscuity, is the
\nroot cause of AIDS and that monogamy is the way to prevent AIDS.<\/p>\n
What if one of the spouses in a polygamy, which is allowed
\nunder Islamic law, happens to be HIV-positive and transmits it to
\nothers through unprotected sex? And what happens to people who
\nhave safe sex with different partners? Do they all get AIDS?<\/p>\n
To be sure, the use of condoms doesn't guarantee absolute
\nprotection from AIDS, but they are the most effective,
\naffordable, and user-friendly tool for prevention there is right
\nnow.<\/p>\n
Third, AIDS victims have been, and still are, stigmatized in
\nIndonesia. The stigmatization of AIDS victims is perhaps the most
\nformidable obstacle in the fight against AIDS in Indonesia -- and
\nthe world, for that matter.<\/p>\n
Because of this, AIDS victims dare not speak out and
\ncontribute to this fight by educating others about AIDS, its
\ncauses, and how to protect themselves against it.<\/p>\n
If Indonesia is to make progress in its campaign against
\nHIV\/AIDS, everyone must be involved. This includes not only
\nmedical authorities, international and local non-governmental
\norganizations (NGOs), and the government of Indonesia, but also
\nparents, teachers, religious and community leaders, and AIDS
\nactivists, including gays.<\/p>\n
In Indonesia, gays and individuals with alternative lifestyles
\nare the most stigmatized group. This is because being a gay, a
\nlesbian, or a bisexual person is a taboo in the world's largest
\nMuslim-majority nation.<\/p>\n
Like it or not, this is the way certain individuals are or
\nchoose to be. And no one can or should stop it; in fact, it is
\ncounterproductive to do so because, given human nature, the more
\nour social institutions or authorities tell us not to do
\nsomething, the more we want to do it.<\/p>\n
But the most important reason to involve the gay community in
\nIndonesia's campaign against HIV\/AIDS is that -- you guessed it
\n-- gays are one of the largest groups of AIDS victims.<\/p>\n
As there is no cure yet for AIDS, the best cure we have is to
\nprevent it. And Indonesia will do better in its campaign against
\nHIV\/AIDS by providing more education on both AIDS and sex;
\ncorrecting the misperceptions (or myths) by Indonesian leaders
\nand citizens of AIDS; and stopping the stigmatization of its
\nvictims.<\/p>\n
Otherwise, the campaign will be in vain.<\/p>\n
The writer is a Jakarta-based columnist. His writing can be
\nread at www.thangthecolumnist.blogspot.com.<\/p>",
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