Indonesia inmates are most vulnerable to HIV/AIDS

Indonesia inmates are most vulnerable to HIV/AIDS

By Triagus S. Siswowihardjo

JAKARTA (JP): Boxer Tommy Morrison enjoyed sudden worldwide
media attention in the middle of February not because he just
beat George Foreman and once felled Mike Tyson, or because he had
signed a film contract. No, Tommy Morrison, the WBO heavy-weight
champion of 1993, had just announced to the press that he was HIV
positive.

Tommy Morrison is the fourth well-known athlete to admit
having the virus. Tennis star Arthur Ashe, now dead, basketball
legend Earvin 'Magic' Johnson, and diver Greg Louganis had all
went public before him. The virus has killed celebrities like
Freddy Mercury, the lead vocalist of the rock group Queen, and
movie idol Rock Hudson.

Don't expect to hear a famous Indonesian announce that he or
she is HIV positive. Although the virus has taken its toll here,
it is still considered improper to talk about the virus or the
people it infects. The HIV/AIDS taboo hits prisoners in
Indonesian jails the hardest. The are not educated about the
danger of AIDS, and, because of their less than low profile, they
are frequently ignored or forgotten.

Only a little better informed than the prisoners, the average
Indonesian is forced to make do with frequent updates on the
number of HIV and AIDS cases in the country.

By the end of February this year, 376 HIV/AIDS cases were
recorded in Indonesia. Last week the Director-General of
Contagious Disease, Hadi Abednego, announced that 10 more
Indonesians were infected with HIV between February and March,
bringing the number of people carrying the virus near 390. Of
these people, 56 have died. The people come from very different
social and educational backgrounds.

Anyone can get HIV, regardless of sex, religion, race, age,
education or profession. The virus is spread by sexual contact,
blood transfusions and unsterile needles, or transferred by an
HIV infected mother.

Highly-mobile people and those confined to one place, like
prisoners, share the same chances of getting the virus. It has
been proven that prisoners are just as vulnerable to AIDS as
those living life in freedom.

Indonesian penitentiaries have no HIV/AIDS prevention
programs. The overcrowding and poor conditions propagates the
problem.

The Salemba penitentiary in Central Jakarta, for example, was
built to hold 750 prisoners. Today it houses between 950 and
1,100 inmates. The Cipinang penitentiary in East Jakarta is meant
to hold 2,800 people but is crammed with 3,000 prisoners. Three
prisoners live in a cell measuring 1.5 by 2 metres.

The shortage of space is aggravated by a lack of disciplined
warders. Such horrendous conditions and the restricted social
environment often leads to behavioral changes.

In prisons, HIV is mainly transferred by homosexual and
heterosexual relations. The use of dirty needles for drug taking
and tattooing is the secondary cause of the spread.

Prisoners who have had sexual intercourse with sex workers
before being jailed pose a serious threat to other inmates.
Unscrupulous warders also allow prostitutes to visit prisoners.

At the Cipinang penitentiary ,for example, affluent prisoners
are known to be able to get a call girl for as little as
Rp200,000. Mintardjo, the warden, denied this was possible.

It is common knowledge that prisoners can order almost
anything if they can pay the price.

At the Pondok Bambu penitentiary in East Jakarta, teenage boys
and girls are free to mingle during visiting hours. Socializing
can be extended into evening for Rp75,000. If the couple pay
Rp100,000, they can have sex in a private room. A point of
concern is that about half of the female inmates in Pondok Bambu
have been booked for commercial sex.

Homosexual practices in prison happen throughout the world.
Unfulfilled sex drives frequently push heterosexual inmates to
have sex with males. Young boys and rapists are in for a very
unpleasant time when jailed. Young inmates are all too often
victimized by homosexual prisoners. The bill on young offenders
being prepared by the House of Representatives will be too little
and too late.

Many young convicts lie about their age to avoid being sent to
Pondok Bambu, which is notorious for its homosexuals. They prefer
the Salemba or Cipinang penitentiaries. The two jails, however,
also have their share of pimps waiting for the young offenders.
Rapists are physically abused by cell mates, usually sodomized
and forced to perform oral sex. Prisoners deemed effeminate are
in for the same treatment.

Although prison records indicate that sexual contact accounts
for 95.7 percent of the reported HIV/AIDS cases in prisons, with
62.6 percent being heterosexual contact and 33.1 percent being
homosexual contact, another cause of the spread of the virus is
the use of unsterile needles for blood transfusions, drug taking
and tattooing.

Tattooing, common in all prisons, is a likely way to spread
HIV. Aside from tattoos, inmates also crave what is called
tasbih.

A tasbih is a small plastic object. The stem of a toothbrush
is filed down to the size of a capsule and then implanted close
to the top of the penis. The implant is said to give immense
pleasure to the sex partner. As the knife used to make the tasbih
and slice the penis is most likely unsterile, an HIV positive
inmate using a tasbih may infect his partner.

Syringes smuggled in for drug addicted inmates are also a
likely way of spreading the virus. On record are cases of
prohibited pills being found in a prison in Denpasar. A strong
indication that prisons are fertile grounds for free sex and
consequently HIV and AIDS.

Indonesian prisoners generally know little about AIDS, and
what they do know depends n where they are incarcerated. A recent
survey conducted by the National Networks of Epidemics
found Jakarta prisoners know more about the virus than their
counterparts in Yogyakarta.

The government is responsible for disseminating information on
AIDS to all prison wardens and inmates.

In Italy, the government passed a special bill in July 1993,
forbidding inmates with full-blown AIDS from being jailed. Italy
has 29,030 registered AIDS carriers. The law requires that
prisoners with AIDS be kept in special cells. Because the Italian
government is unable to provide the cells, so for it has sent
3,000 of the 4,600 prisoners with AIDS home. Indonesia should
avoid this situation because the former prisoners may commit more
crimes and spread the virus.

It is time the Indonesian government paid more attention to
the fate of Indonesian prisoners, and protect them from HIV and
AIDS. They are citizens with the same right to learn about the
prevention of HIV and AIDS.