Indonesia: Men matter

Rahmad has been working in the construction industry since he was 17 years old, a job with short term contracts which require men to work far from home and away from the company of their wives. He says for these men, there are few more important things after receiving their weekly wages than seeking pleasure.

‘I am 31 years old, a husband and father of two children. I work as a steel concrete labourer for one of the construction companies that are developing the Tanjung Priok Access Road.

I‘m lucky because I can go home everyday as I’ve rented a small house near the project site. But for men who live far from their families, to relieve stress they will look for sex workers, male or female. Their wages are about $3–5 a day, but they’ll happily pay $5–20 to have sex. If they are not having sex, they’re getting drunk.

Although most of us have heard from the media about gonorrhoea, syphilis and HIV, and that they can be transmitted through sexual intercourse without a condom, most don’t pay any attention. I… no, my friends buy antibiotics or herbs if they feel uncomfortable or feel pain around their genitals. Do we visit the doctor? No way, it would be shameful. Sometimes I feel guilty that men don’t care about the risk to our wives.

One day my foreman asked me and some friends to attend a discussion during our lunchtime. At first we objected but he insisted that we join the other workers. At first, I could not believe it! A young man from the Indonesian Planned Parenthood Association (IPPA) was speaking frankly about sex. He explained what a sexual transmitted infection (STI) is and all about HIV and how it can be transmitted. He also distributed a leaflet with information on STIs and HIV, and the address and telephone number of his organization. Not only did he visit us regularly, but so did his colleagues. Over time, many workers considered these educators as friends. They helped us to understand about STIs and HIV and have encouraged us to use a condom when having sex. We were also allowed to use their mobile health services to have genital examinations and blood tests.

I now see some of my colleagues trying to look for condoms on pay day, although they are still ashamed to ask for them! How long should this programme should continue? I suppose for as long as men work far from home.’


This is one of the twenty-four, real-life stories highlighting how IPPF's work is having a real impact in the lives of people around the world. 'In A Life' is available at: http://www.ippf.org/en/Resources/Reports-reviews/In+a+life+2010.htm

Pakistan: Delights, Dogs and Destiny

 Fatima* is a sex worker who has become involved with a peer education group set up in Quetta, Pakistan, to increase HIV prevention and care among sex workers.

‘I nearly quit on my first day as a peer educator because a pack of dogs was set on me! I’d been to a brothel and the owner refused to let me talk to her sex workers. I can earn up to 30,000 rupees ($350) a night as a sex worker. Being mauled by dogs for 4,000 rupees ($47) per month as a peer educator hardly seemed worth it. I’m so glad I didn’t quit because I later helped save a woman’s life.

My manager came with me the next day. She reassured the owner, Auntie, that nobody planned to change her girls’ attitude towards sex work and that we were concerned only about their health and safety.

My eyes fell on a frail woman sitting in a corner in agony. The emptiness in her eyes made me wonder what she might have been going through. I tried talking to her, but was stopped. Before leaving, I scribbled and hid my telephone number under the sofa, making sure the hollow-eyed woman noticed.

Her name was Zeba*, and she called me the same night. Sounding petrified, she whispered that she needed medical attention and help. The next morning my manager and I visited Auntie, armed with ‘gifts’ including medicines and condoms. She was happy for us to distribute these among the girls.

We told them about the ‘Drop-in Centre’ run by Rahnuma Family Planning Association Pakistan where free medical check-ups are conducted by doctors. We reassured everyone that the medical attention provided was non-judgemental and stigma-free, and Auntie finally gave her girls permission to visit.

Zeba needed medicines for sexually transmitted infections and post abortion care. After she was stabilized, she shared her story. She was a mother – though her three children lived with their grandmother in Gujranwala village. She came to Quetta five years ago to work in a toy factory, but soon found herself sold by the factory owner to Auntie. Unfortunately, Auntie discovered Zeba talking to us, and Zeba disappeared without a trace.

I later found Zeba at the Drop-in Centre. Her time with us had given her confidence to stand up for herself. She had more than 18 clients a day, but before meeting me she only got a minor percentage, but now she felt better and had the courage to negotiate a better deal.

I am still a sex worker, but my work as a peer educator has given me a great sense of achievement.’

*Name changed to protect confidentiality


This is one of the twenty-four, real-life stories highlighting how IPPF's work is having a real impact in the lives of people around the world. 'In A Life' is available at: http://www.ippf.org/en/Resources/Reports-reviews/In+a+life+2010.htm

Sudan: Stigma-free treatment

Living with HIV in Sudan is not easy. The media demonises HIV, this is both a symptom and a cause of the high level of HIV related stigma and discrimination faced by people living with HIV in Sudan. This stigma affects their access to medical treatment as well as care and support services. The head of a stigma-free HIV-clinic opened by the Sudan Family Planning Association takes up the story:

‘Our biggest problem in Sudan is knowing how to give people living with HIV a decent life. Our priority is finding support for people living with HIV that allows them to live positively and access the medical services they need. The situation in Sudan is very difficult. Many people living with HIV do not want to go to government health facilities as they often have a harrowing experience as the following examples show:
Through the Sudan Family Planning Association, we have been able to open a centre where people living with HIV can receive stigma-free HIV treatment, care and support services such as voluntary counselling and testing, prevention of mother-to-child transmission, antiretroviral therapy and treatment for sexually transmitted infections and opportunistic infections. There is also counselling and psychosocial support available for people living with HIV as well as home care visits. We do all this so people living with HIV can live a normal, decent life and have access to the support, treatment and care they both require and need.’

“I had a cut in my hand, so I went to the emergency unit at my local hospital. When I was seen by the doctor, he was about to seal my wound when I realised that he was not wearing gloves. When I told him to put gloves on, he looked surprised and asked me why? I told him I was HIV-positive. He told me to wait where I was and that he would be back shortly. He never came back but left me bleeding in the treatment room so I bandaged myself and left.”

“People living with HIV cannot bear the public hospital. This is because the doctors there refuse to deal with us. I will always go to the HIV clinic if I can, to avoid being stigmatized by the doctors and nurses in the public hospital.”

This is one of the twenty-four, real-life stories highlighting how IPPF's work is having a real impact in the lives of people around the world. 'In A Life' is available at: http://www.ippf.org/en/Resources/Reports-reviews/In+a+life+2010.htm

Iran: The longest night of the year

In a clothing factory in southern Tehran, Yalda, a 19 year-old girl, earns a living folding and packing clothes eight hours a day. The last four years have been a roller coaster for her, as she explains:

‘My name Yalda means ‘the longest night of the year’. I think it reflects my past, which has been long and dark. I lost my mother at the age of seven and had to take on a mother’s role, while raising my younger sister.

At 15, I committed a sin under Islamic law. I lost my virginity to my boyfriend Mohammad, who had promised to marry me. My father is very conservative and religious, so could not accept this. I was left with no option but to run away with Mohammed.

My life quickly spun out of control. It all started with my first cigarette. That cigarette became the gateway to a life of addiction. The first time I got high I had no idea what to expect, but once it hit and I started feeling the tingle I couldn’t help but smile. For the first time I was able to escape my life. I moved on to drugs to numb the pain, shut down my brain and get through the day. Mohammad and I felt free. We shared needles for drugs, and enjoyed sex with no fear of sexually transmitted infections.

Things changed when the drug addiction set in. Mohammad wanted to sell me to fund his daily fix. Scared and heartbroken I ran away. I was 17 years old, with no money or place to stay. I turned to sex work to survive but I was often raped, beaten and had nowhere to sleep but the park.

An outreach team associated with the Family Planning Association of the Islamic Republic of Iran (FPAIRI) approached me one night. I registered at their clinic and saw their gynaecologist. After receiving some counselling I decided to test for sexually transmitted infections and HIV. The HIV test result was positive.

The staff at FPAIRI were very supportive. They gave me free condoms and information on safer sex practices. I learnt about contraceptives, preventing sexually transmitted, and life skills development. They also helped me access methadone therapy and offered me vocational training to find work. These free services helped me back on my feet. I first decided to become a peer educator to help other girls and then I retrained and took a job at the clothing factory.’

This is one of the twenty-four, real-life stories highlighting how IPPF's work is having a real impact in the lives of people around the world. 'In A Life' is available at: http://www.ippf.org/en/Resources/Reports-reviews/In+a+life+2010.htm

A 'miscarriage' of justice

On Sunday 22nd August I mentioned that a number of women are imprisoned in Guanajuato (the state in Mexico where the World Youth Conference took place) for having an abortions and that some of these women had been imprisoned for having a miscarriage! There is finally some good news on this story - see below:

7 women in 'miscarriage' cases freed in Mexico
By MARK STEVENSON (AP) – 17 hours ago
MEXICO CITY — Seven women in Mexico serving prison terms of up to 29 years for the death of their newborns were freed Tuesday after a legal reform enacted in the state of Guanajuato lowered their sentences.

The women's cases case drew national attention in Mexico and their release is unlikely to staunch the fiery debate about whether some conservative states are trying to overzealously enforce bans on elective abortion by charging women who may have suffered miscarriages.

The complete story is available here: http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5gwlqCTH27c7bNv925zRTxUNsnhuwD9I3GER00

However,the women were not absolved, but rather released under a legal reform passed by the state and abortion is still illegal in the majority of cases. There is a lot way to go to ensure that women have the right to choose and access safe abortion services in Guanajuato.

When all is said and done...what next?

Well I'm finally back in the UK and have just caught up with the final outcomes of the conference. A government declaration was signed in the end but with just four changes made. Still at least language was added on looking after the sexual and reproductive health of young people and language was kept on comprehensive sexuality education - two things which we know work!

The final text of the government declaration (called the Guanajuato Declaration after the Mexico State that the conference was held) is available on the youth 2010 website at http://youth2010.org/portal/?lang=en

The final Statement of the NGO Global Meeting - the text which was agreed by 200+ youth delegates is also available in the same place http://youth2010.org/portal/?lang=en

What next?
Well the Guanajuato Declaration will be delivered to the MDG+10 Conference at the UN in September and to the 65th UN General Assembly. However the year of youth will climax with the UN Conference on Youth next July. It will be interesting to see whether this youth statement is used as a foundation for this meeting. Whether it will or not is still in question.

A useful first step...
Whilst the World Youth Conference wasn't a shining example of how to meaningfully involve young people, it was a step in the right direction. The fact that there was a forum for young people to meet and discuss a youth statement to feed into the governement declaration is an improvement. There were also youth representatives on the goverenment delegations. The next (and somewhat obvious step) in now to listen to the voices of these young people, trust their judgement and expertise on youth issues, and meaningfully involve them by taking on board their ideas, suggestions and comments. If this had happened, instead of being a Government Declaration on Youth Issues (closely observed by youth), the Guanajuato Declaration would have been a youth declaration.

Me. A cynic?

Maybe I am when it comes to small scale demonstrations at conferences. So often I have walked past the group of people and thought, whatever they are hoping to achieve, this is surely not the way to go about it. Well my experiences from this week have shown that small peaceful demonstrations, can be a very effective form of advocacy. For example, the media interest created by the abortion demo on Tuesday generated a lot of column inches and discussion about the issue in the local and national press.

A further example was at a small demonstration we carried out this morning (actually, it's still going on). Due to the lack of a transparent and democratic process and hearing that the Government Forum had been instructed to disregard the NGO recommendations, we stood quietly outside the entrance to the Governments Forum with messages urging governments to think again. The messages are below:

Before the demonstration, I honestly thought, what can this do? What difference can it make? Surely security will not let this happen. Well, I had to eat my words a couple of hours later. Many of the government delegates read the messages on the way in to the meeting, security left us alone and other delegates who had already entered the meeting came out to read the messages. It turns out that many governments were just as fed up about a lack of transparency and democracy in the process and the demonstration showed that they were not the only ones thinking this. Therefore, when the meeting started, the European, African and North and South American delegates all refused to continue the meeting without the opportunity to read the NGO declaration and discuss and democratically vote on the language in the Government Declaration. They also asked us to stay where we were and keep protesting!

Therefore, people are still there, the TV crews turned up and the closing ceremony for the Government Forum has been shifted from 11:30am to 5pm to give time for the discussions to take place.

What's going to happen? I have no idea and will not know the outcome for the next few days as I have to get on a plane in a couple of hours. I will write more about it as soon as I know.

Quote of the day: (In a session on youth participation from one of the youth NGO Delegates) "I was an observer in the Governments Forum yesterday and one of the Government representatives asked me about the process that had been used to decide the NGO declaration. I told him and he was surprised and said "wow, your process was much more transparent and democratic than ours is, we should learn something from you!"