According to the UNAIDS report on HIV Transmission in Intimate Partner Relationships in Asia, there is an “unprecedented mobility and migration” of populations in the region, fueled by robust and consistent economic growth in the past decade, which is likely to continue in future.

Members of these populations are more vulnerable to HIV than members of static populations, the report released last week states.

Irwanto, a professor from Jakarta’s Atmajaya University, said last week that mobile people had more chance of being infected for several reasons.

“Theoretically, and sociologically, it is said that when someone leaves one’s community, they will often feel that the norms in that community no longer apply,” he said at the launch of the Indonesian language version of the report in Jakarta.

The UNAIDS report states that the separation from those norms guiding behavior in stable communities, as well as the separation from spouses and families, can lead to isolation and stress.

Such conditions, especially if accompanied with poor working and living conditions without recreational activities, might lead to migrants resorting to unsafe casual and commercial sex.

Irwanto said the category of mobile members of the community extended further than migrant workers.

“There are also those who often travel while carrying money with them. This includes youths, although we know that youths, with or without money, are a high-risk group,” he said.

Nafsiah Mboi, the chairwoman of the National Commission for AIDS concurred, saying the younger members of the population, in their 20s, were most at risk.

An especially risky group, she said, were those dubbed the “3 M”.

“That is mobile men with money, especially men who work in other places [outside their hometowns], if they get lonely in their new place, they get their salaries on weekend and use it for sex,” Nafsiah said.

The same thing applied to students who studied in other towns and had extra cash, such as scholarship money, to spend on sex, she said.

Nafsiah said women had different experiences to men in regards to mobility and risk of HIV infection.

“They [contract HIV] mainly because they became victims of trafficking. They are swindled, bought and sold,” she said.

Nafsiah said men often saw their risk of contracting HIV as their own choice, however, the focus on HIV prevention and testing had mostly been targeted towards women, especially those who became migrant workers.

“I don’t think it’s fair. Men are [more] likely to lead high-risk sex lives and to not wear condoms…they should be given more consul-tation and awareness programs,” she said.

Anis Hidayah from Migrant Care said the mandatory testing of migrant workers before they went overseas was unfriendly to those forced to take the tests.

“The [mandatory HIV tests] are not aimed at migrants’ wellbeing but at their productivity,” she said.

Migrant workers, especially female ones, needed more than mandatory tests before going overseas, she said.

“First and foremost they need to know what HIV/AIDS is. They must know what the dangers are, and how to avoid them. They must also know how to avoid being tricked into become trafficking victims,” Anis said.

She said the government’s one-day training was insufficient to prepare the workers on what they might face abroad.

Commenting on the UNAIDS report, Irwanto said migrant workers who were HIV positive were often sent by the government to NGOs for treatment.

“It’s as if it’s the NGOs’ responsibility to take care of them, when in reality some of those organizations may be confused about what to do [with those sent to them],” he said.

Anis said Migrant Care had faced such cases.

“I think we have seen cases like that … and information about someone having contracted HIV is supposed to be restricted to the people who took the test and the health workers involved. It is a very private affair,” she said.

Around 3,000 Indonesian workers leave each year to work in other countries such as Malaysia and Saudi Arabia.

According to the AIDS Commission, around 298,000 people in Indonesia are living with HIV/AIDS.

However, this number is thought to be only the tip of the iceberg. (dis)

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