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Moral panic in fighting AIDS
There are several strong signs of moral panic, particularly among our high-ranking government officials, following the frenzy relating to two sex videos allegedly featuring three high-profile celebrities in Indonesia
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here are several strong signs of moral panic, particularly among our high-ranking government officials, following the frenzy relating to two sex videos allegedly featuring three high-profile celebrities in Indonesia.
Not very long after National Education Minister Muhammad Nuh announced his skepticism of the positive impact of sex education for children and adolescents as well as his objection to a broader implementation of sex education, another reactive response was shown by another minister.
It was recently reported that the Communications and Information Technology Minister Tifatul Sembiring had demonstrated his moral panic by his jumping to the conclusion that the increased access to pornography, including to the celebrities’ sex videos, had fueled a surge in promiscuity, which he claimed was directly responsible for the rise of HIV infections in the country.
What is worse is Tifatul’s statement that the budget allocated for HIV and AIDS prevention and care programs could be better spent elsewhere. He further stated that every year the government spends approximately Rp 180 billion (US$19.6 million) to combat the problems caused by promiscuity and extramarital sex, including the spread of HIV, and that the budget could actually be reduced and should be used for other things more beneficial to the country (Kompas, June 17, 2010).
It is important to note that this is not the first time the minister has jumped to a conclusion and triggered controversy. Last year, he courted controversy with his statements directly linking natural disasters and immorality. His recent comment that directly linked pornography to promiscuity and HIV/AIDS is misleading and only indicated his ignorance.
Furthermore, his intention to cut the funding for HIV and AIDS prevention and care programs revealed his misconception toward the necessary action and funds needed to combat the epidemic.
It is true that watching pornography could facilitate casual sex, but it should be highlighted that the major causes of HIV infections in Indonesia, and in many other countries, are unsafe sex (having multiple partners and low levels of condom use) as well as unsafe drug-injecting practices (the sharing of needles and other injecting paraphernalia). After all, not all casual sex can be categorized as unsafe and not all sexual practices within marriage are safe.
It is also worth noting that the existing funding for HIV/AIDS prevention and care in Indonesia is actually far from sufficient. A recent study on HIV/AIDS-related programs in the country reported that the current funds covered less than 60 percent of the needed programs, while the rest would have to be covered by foreign donors.
Tifatul’s intention to further reduce the existing funding will threaten the coverage and the quality of the current and future urgently needed programs, as well as increase the susceptibility of vulnerable groups such as sex workers and their clients, injecting drug users and their sexual partners.
In contrast to the minister’s moral panic and misleading perception of HIV and AIDS, what we really need to fight the epidemic is to increase the coverage of the programs, particularly toward vulnerable groups, and more comprehensive programs (primary, secondary and tertiary programs) for both vulnerable groups and the wider population
A plethora of studies from developed and developing countries have highlighted several prerequisites to significantly reduce the spread of HIV, such as sufficient political and financial support from the government; better coordination and cooperation between government agencies; a powerful alliance with nongovernment and community-based organizations; and high levels of participation of vulnerable groups, including participation of people living with HIV and AIDS in designing, implementing and evaluating the programs.
There is no evidence that moral panic, reactive and repressive responses generate desirable outcomes.
Rather than producing positive outcomes, moral panic, reactive and repressive approaches will highly likely aggravate vulnerabilities, worsen discrimination and stigma toward at-risk groups and exacerbate the spread of the epidemic.
Public health researchers and HIV activists should work harder to advocate high-ranking government officials, such as the national education minister and the communications and information technology minister, look at more public health evidence related to HIV and AIDS.
Additionally, these government officials should think more carefully before commenting and responding to crucial social and health issues related to sex and sexuality.
The writer is a lecturer at the Faculty of Public Health, Hasanuddin University, Makassar, and a PhD candidate at the Nossal Institute for Global Health, University of Melbourne, Australia.
