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.