Women with HIV/AIDS need 'greater care'

Women with HIV/AIDS need 'greater care'

Hera Diani, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Frika Iskandar says it took her over a year to accept that she
was HIV positive. Of course, she was only 18 when she learned she
had the virus.

Six years later, much more assured and confident, the 24-year-
old student has accepted that she is HIV positive, but what she
cannot accept is that women living with HIV/AIDS in Indonesia
have a much tougher time than men infected with the virus.

"Access to health services, particularly women's reproductive
health services, is very limited. It is difficult even to get a
Pap smear. The staff at hospitals and clinics often do not want
to do it because we are HIV positive. And if they do, we have to
pay more," she told The Jakarta Post on the sidelines of a
discussion on women living with HIV/AIDS last Thursday.

The types of antiretroviral (ARV) drugs available here are
also limited, while the ones that are available, such as
Efavirenz, can affect fertility and damage fetuses.

"Limited access to health services and drugs are very serious
because the number of opportunistic infections for women is
higher (than for men). Yet there is very little information about
it," Frika said.

The patriarchal society in the country creates a double stigma
for women living with HIV/AIDS, who are often assumed to be drug
addicts or sex workers.

Also, the generally weaker position women occupy in the family
and society, a lack of education and skills, as well as economic
dependency on men, mean women living with HIV/AIDS are often on
their own in dealing with the disease.

"Despite their ailment, women still have to serve their
families. They also often lose custody of their children once
they are infected with HIV," said Frika, who has actively been
involved in local campaigns to fight HIV/AIDS.

Because of this many women are reluctant to talk about their
situation, which has led to the underreporting of the number of
cases of women living with HIV/AIDS.

Women's activist Debra Yatim compared the double stigma and
discrimination faced by women living with HIV/AIDS with men and
women who were homosexuals.

"When a man comes out of the closet and tell people he is gay,
somehow people are more tolerant. But it is different with women
who say they are lesbian," she said during the discussion on
Thursday.

The situation has prompted organizations dealing with HIV/AIDS
to launch the Indonesian Positive Women's Agreement (IPPI) aimed
to shine a light on the unique problems and needs of women living
with HIV/AIDS.

"Women with HIV/AIDS have their own specific problems that
need special handling, but they have never been accommodated by
any support groups in Indonesia," Frika said.

She said IPPI was a network that helped members meet the needs
of women living with HIV/AIDS.

"Aside from exchanging information, we also ask for greater
involvement from every party, not just people living with
HIV/AIDS," Frika said.

She voiced concern over women's organizations, which she said
seemed detached from HIV/AIDS issues.

"It is different in Thailand, where the women's organizations
are united. Here, despite the same goals, it is tough to get them
united.

"HIV is a very complicated issue, particularly for women. It
takes networking and a collective effort to help women feel more
confident and supported," Frika said.