Foundation raises gigolos' health awareness

The Jakarta Post ,  Jakarta   |  Thu, 08/02/2007 12:28 PM  |  Life

Ni Luh Dian Purniawati, Contributor, Ubud

Any number of young men are lured to Kuta, Ubud and Lovina resorts each year by the promise of work.

For these unskilled workers, hotels, clubs and cafes represent their best shot at success.

They dream of leading fuller lives, making more money and enjoying the other benefits brought by a surge in tourism.

Gde Onik, who comes from a remote village in North Bali, has been trying his luck in the art village of Ubud. A junior high school dropout, Gde has neither the money nor the skills required to land a ""good"" job.

After countless disappointments, he was eventually offered a job as the caretaker of a villa. However, he soon became fed up with working day in, day out for a meager wage.

Relying on his good looks and English language skills, Gde embarked on a new career as a sex worker.

""First, I offer to take my client on a trip around Ubud or other parts of Bali. The rest of the day depends on how cleverly I seduce her,"" Gde said.

Sometimes, he said, he still maintained relationships with women even after they returned to their own countries. ""We keep in touch through phone calls and e-mails,"" Gde said, adding that many of the women also transferred money to his bank account.

Gde, who came to Ubud in 1999, has been in the ""business"" for some years now. He can now buy fashionable T-shirts and jeans, luxury watches and other items he could only dream of owning when he was back in his village. He also sends money to his parents back home and tells them that he has a good job in Ubud.

Gde continued to work in prostitution even after he married a local girl in 2002. ""My wife does not know where I get my money. All she knows is that I work in a villa,"" Gde said.

Ketut Lamben arrived at Lovina Beach in Buleleng, North Bali, also to look for employment. His brother told him to take a job washing dishes in a restaurant. At the restaurant, however, he met many foreign women and started to ask some of them out.

""In Lovina, we are known as kiper. Not gigolos, but friends to lonely foreigners,"" Ketut said.

Hundreds of young men across Bali are believed to be working in the sex industry. Their goals are clear: money and sex.

The trouble is that many, if not all, of those involved in the business are not aware of the risks they face.

Moses came from Kalimantan to Kuta beach when he was just 14 years old. He met a Western woman and got involved in a sexual relationship for the very first time. From then on, however, his clientele only increased.

""I have been married five times to women from France, Romania, Australia, Sweden and Java and have seven children,"" Moses said.

He said he had lost count of the number of women he had dated or slept with, but it could be in the hundreds.

Moses said he, and many of the other men working in the sex industry, understood they faced an increased risk of contracting sexually transmitted diseases such as HIV/AIDS.

Ketut said he did not realize the risks his line of work entailed until it was too late.

""I passed an infection on to my wife and baby. He is now in poor health because of my sexual activities,"" he said.

This situation has caused concern among the medical community, including Dr. Tuty Parwati, the first doctor to report a case of HIV/AIDS in Indonesia.

""Many of these men have no knowledge of genital diseases. A lot of them are reluctant to wear condoms or protect themselves using other methods,"" Tuty said.

""The majority of these young men have led unhealthy lifestyles, indulging in sex, drugs and alcohol,"" she added.

In l992, a number of activists set up the Citra Usadha Foundation to reach out to these young men and to raise their awareness of sexually transmitted diseases.

""We set up programs to meet their needs,"" Efo Suarmiartha, the foundation's director said. The foundation also established a drop-in center to enable young men to access information about various health and social issues.

""When they get adequate information, they will gradually change their high-risk behavior,"" Efo said.

Many male sex workers joined the foundation as volunteers and are happy to share their experiences with their friends. The foundation now has 200 volunteers who work in Lovina disseminating information on the dangers of STDs and HIV/AIDS.

The foundation also reaches out to young men working in Kuta and Ubud.

The foundation usually asks sex workers to undergo medical checkups.

""One of them was found to be HIV positive,"" Efo said.

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