Sweet couple: Baby (left) and her husband Jim Bary Aditya.

The radio presenter-turned-social activist has been unflagging in her mission to educate people about HIV/AIDS.

Baby Jim Aditya has been a passionate HIV/AIDS counselor for decades, giving advice about everything related to the disease.

“I’ve been engaged in this activity since 1988,” said Baby, who in the late 1980s joined Radio Prambors as a broadcaster tasked with presenting teenage sexuality issues along with the late psychologist Sarlito Wirawan Sarwono.

Directing programs about sexual behavior made her realize that sexual matters remained a taboo subject for open discussion.

“Questions about sex have since the 1980s remained the same. This indicates the absence of comprehensive sex education,” Baby said.

She describes the taboo as an impediment to HIV/AIDS education. If such a thing is seen as sinful, the chance for further discussion is closed, she says.

Although occasionally downhearted, she has always managed to keep her spirits up because she could not stand to see the stagnancy in the education system regarding HIV/AIDS and sexuality. There were times when she was called an immoral counselor for her forthright explanations about sexual matters, but Baby was undaunted.

“HIV/AIDS counseling and sex education form a long series so it’s impossible to give just one or two lectures to prompt people to change,” she said.

Her decision to return to college was a turning point in her life.

“I wished to make it my 40th birthday gift,” she said. “Originally I chose sociology, but when I contacted the phone number to ask for information, I was connected with the department of psychology. I thought psychology was just the right discipline that I should pick,” she recalled.

When she eventually enrolled, she found out that her Prambors fellow counselor, Sarlito Wirawan Sarwono, was now her lecturer.

“Although I felt awkward at first, it was just Mas Ito [Sarlito] who gave me ample support in my studies,” she said, admitting that it wasn’t easy to juggle lectures and her many other jobs.

Yet her hard work and persistence finally earned her a doctorate in psychology. It makes her sad to remember her doctorate promotion ceremony.

“In his speech at the time, Mas Ito as my supervisor said that I was the last doctor under his guidance,” said Baby. “Perhaps at that moment he got a hunch that he was nearing the end of his life.”

The other person who makes Baby feel grateful is her husband, Jim Bary Aditya. In contrast to Baby’s spontaneity, Jim is imbued with patience. He also supports Baby’s initiative to form a family that makes no gender distinction when it comes to household chores.

“Jim is used to cooking and washing clothes, so are our two sons,” said the woman of the Padang ethnic group from West Sumatra.

“I’m also prepared to do men’s jobs like replacing lamps or fixing roof tiles.”

Gender equality has a considerable impact on the prevention of HIV/AIDS. Today, housewives, by a slim margin, account for the majority of HIV cases in Indonesia. Baby believes that this is the result of the trivialization the role of women in the family.

“If housewives are affected by HIV/AIDS, their husbands should be held responsible. Still there are men who deny having transmitted the disease to their spouses,” she said with irritation.

How does Baby arrange sex education for her sons?

“There’s no taboo, but everything is conveyed in phases and its quality is enhanced with age. We don’t hesitate to mention the names of reproductive organs,” she said.

The former member of the legendary Teater Koma troupe emphasizes that sex education provided in a measured way increases the responsibility of individuals to appreciate their bodies and the bodies of members of the opposite sex.

Baby also dismisses the notion that teenagers receiving advanced sex education are more likely to engage in promiscuity.

“It all depends on the individuals. Even if they’re engaged in it, [if they receive education] they will do it with responsibility and know the consequences,” she explained, adding that it is more dangerous for teenagers to have no knowledge about how they could get pregnant.

With her three decades of HIV/AIDS counseling experience, Baby continues to remind people of the need to regularly disseminate information on HIV/AIDS.

“No change in behavior can be secured in one seminar, counseling session or workshop. Continuous and sustainable measures are needed, complete with evaluation.”

— Courtesy of Baby Jim Aditya

Popular

To my horror, it’s just a movie!

RI, Australia strengthen partnership on taxing crypto assets

Pentagon chief congratulates Prabowo on being elected President