Debating about condoms

Debating about condoms

At this point in our history, when the nation is busy weighing
the merits of introducing greater participatory politics against
the need for maintaining stability and when new organizations
seem to be sprouting up like mushrooms in the rainy season -- to
borrow a popular Indonesian saying -- debating the pros and cons
of popularizing the use of condoms may seem a bit trivial.

Yet, the issue is foremost in the minds of many for a very
good reason. As the world marked AIDS Day yesterday, ignorance
about the syndrome, which is characterized by the impairment of
the human immune system, remains a very real threat in this
country. The question of how to prevent the unrestrained spread
of the Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV), which triggers the
Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome, among an unaware and poorly
informed public remains a topic of debate.

In a report published last week Dr. Peter Piot, the executive
director of the newly formed United Nations AIDS Program, said
that "from henceforth HIV and AIDS are part of the human
condition. It is not a little epidemic flare-up but a condition
that will be with us for a long time".

The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates there are about
4.5 million cases of AIDS worldwide at present. And 11 million
people in Africa are HIV positive, with another three million in
Asia.

The same agency predicts that by 1997, which is only a little
more than a year away, Asia will have overtaken Africa in terms
of new infections annually. With up to 6,000 people around the
globe being infected every day, by the turn of the century 30
million to 40 million people will have been exposed to the virus.
Other estimates put the figures even higher.

Amid all of these grim developments, how does Indonesia fare?
According to the official figures, there are at present 355
reported cases in Indonesia, 196 of them among heterosexuals and
81 among homosexuals. Compared to the number of people infected
worldwide, these figures could lead to the assumption that
Indonesia has been successful in curbing the spread of the
disease. But with unofficial estimates putting the total at
20,000 to 100,000 cases, it might well be that what we officially
see is merely the tip of the iceberg.

Because no cure has been found for AIDS, the only way to stop
it is to prevent its spread by teaching people how to avoid
infection by contaminated blood or other bodily fluids. Because
sexual intercourse is one of the most common ways in which the
virus is transmitted, it is quite logical that the battle against
AIDS in Indonesia, as elsewhere, has focused on this particular
aspect. And because "modern" sexual attitudes have always been a
major concern for those who consider themselves guardians of our
morals, it is quite logical that so much attention has been given
to the question of whether or not the popularization of condoms
for safe sex can be morally justified.

The influential Indonesian Council of Ulemas, in a meeting in
Bandung earlier this week, reportedly objected to mentioning the
use of condoms as a means to check the spread of AIDS. MUI
leaders explained to reporters after the meeting that the free
distribution of condoms in such places as red-light districts
could create the image that fornication and adultery were
legitimate in this country. Instead, in their statement at the
end of the meeting, the Moslem leaders called on people to
refrain from "sinful actions" and to return to religious
behavior.

Such objections notwithstanding, anti-AIDS campaigners went
ahead and distributed informative leaflets and free condoms in
Jakarta's largest red-light district yesterday to impress on the
sex workers the importance of persuading their clients to use
them. Both camps -- those for and those against the
popularization of condoms -- have their followings and the debate
about the moral aspect of using condoms to fight AIDS seems to be
far from over.

As we see it, both sides have a point, social conditions in
this country considered. Under the circumstances, the important
thing seems to be that all people be made aware of the specter of
AIDS so they can protect themselves in the manner they see fit.