Teenagers with HIV/AIDS dare to speak out

A. Junaidi, The Jakarta Post/Jakarta

What does the public need to know when a group of young people with HIV/AIDS gather and engage in scientific -- not self-pitying -- discussion?

Certainly, their courage to "come out of the closet" and to share their life stories is something that must be lauded, against the prevailing stigma and discrimination against people living with HIV/AIDS.

The young people, mostly in their 20s, did not only make a public outcry of what had happened to them, but they also delivered a strong demand to the government to give much-needed attention to young people living with HIV/AIDS by establishing "youth-friendly services at health centers" immediately.

"I found out was HIV positive when I was 17. It shocked me, but with the support of my family, I was able to face it," said 22-year-old Decky Ocktaviano.

Decky, now a volunteer at Pelita Ilmu Foundation -- a non- governmental organization that works mostly with young people with health problems, including HIV/AIDS -- contracted Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) through shared needles when he was an injecting-drug user and addict.

His family's support has helped him stand strong and engage in positive activities amid the negative image of people with HIV/AIDS, which is growing among the public.

Decky said he suspected that lack of information about HIV/AIDS, including how the virus is transmitted, caused the misunderstanding.

"People once threatened to burn our office in Tebet, South Jakarta, when they discovered that we were people with HIV/AIDS. They thought they could contract the virus from being near us," he said at last week's seminar on Teenagers and HIV/AIDS.

The seminar was held to commemorate International Youth Day, which fell on Aug. 12, and was organized by Aksi Stop AIDS and the AIDS Eradication Commission of the Office of the Coordinating Minister for People's Welfare with support from the United Nations Children's Fund (Unicef), the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) and the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS).

Terry, a young mother with HIV/AIDS, said many people lacked knowledge about how the virus spread.

"I got the virus from my late husband ... because I didn't know about HIV/AIDS," the 23-year-old told the seminar.

Terry, who married when she was 21, said her husband was a former drug addict and died nine months ago because of complications resulting from HIV/AIDS.

She said her three-month old baby, who was believed to have contracted the virus in utero, died last September.

"I didn't know that my husband was HIV positive. I knew that he was former drug user. I was shocked when I learned I was also infected by the virus," said Terry, who is an active member of the Tegak Tegar AIDS Foundation.

Decky and Terry both hoped that the government would improve the dissemination of information on HIV/AIDS, especially to teenagers. They said many people did not know that the virus could only be transmitted to others through sexual contact or injections.

They also hoped that the government would provide health centers designed specifically to provide services and information on HIV/AIDS and reproductive health to youths, in addition to providing sex education as part of the national school curriculum to enhance their understanding of reproductive health and sexually transmitted diseases.

A transvestite, Resti, hoped the government would also provide affordable medical services for transvestites, many of whom come from the lower income bracket.

"We are vulnerable to HIV/AIDS, and are campaigning for 100 percent condom use. But we also hope the government will assist us by providing cheap medical services," 19-year-old Resti told the seminar.

According to data from the AIDS Eradication Commission, the number of HIV/AIDS cases as of June among people aged 15 to 19 years old reached 167, while 1,225 people between 20 and 29 years of age were living with HIV/AIDS, and the number of people with HIV/AIDS nationwide was 4,389.

Health minister Achmad Suyudi appreciated the youths for bravely speaking out about themselves and promised to fulfill their demands, such as providing youth-friendly medical services and low-cost medical treatment.

"We have set up youth-friendly services in some hospitals. The government will also continue to increase the subsidy for the health sector, including services related to HIV/AIDS," Achmad told the seminar.

Meanwhile, Minister of National Education and acting coordinating minister for people's welfare Abdul Malik Fajar, who also spoke at the seminar, appeared reluctant about implementing sex education in schools.

"The idea of sex education is still controversial. We should discuss it further," said Malik Fajar.