http://www.thejakartapost.com/detailfeatures.asp?fileid=20051106.H12&irec=10
Youth: Report urges openness on youth and sexual health Duncan Graham, Contributor/Surabaya To stay healthy and to be responsible, Indonesian youth should have access to condoms and other contraceptives in places where they feel relaxed about obtaining them, says a report on sexual health based on local research. Although young Indonesians are hungry for information on sex, many parents, teachers and religious leaders believe education should suppress youth sexuality. The report, Youth, Sexuality and Sex Education Messages in Indonesia: Issues of Desire and Control, by East Java academic Dede Oetomo and Dutch social studies lecturer Brigitte Holzner, was published in the May 2004 issue of British journal Reproductive Health Matters. "If sexuality is a form of knowledge-seeking that creates identity and connectivity, then sexuality is not something dangerous that should be suppressed," the authors said. "Young people can have a healthy, informed and responsible sexual life. By providing information and the means to sexual health, we actually reduce the risk of young people inflicting harm on themselves," they stressed. "Non-prohibition does not mean 'you must have sex'; on the contrary it means having information and the acceptance of desire, dialogue, negotiation and pleasure. This is the meaning of empowering young people in relation to sexuality. "(However) the dominant prohibitive discourse in Java denies and denounces youth sexuality as abnormal, unhealthy, illegal or criminal, reinforced through intimidation about the dangers of sex." Research for the report included open discussions with young people in Surabaya and analyzing the contents of youth magazines and publications on sexual health. The authors observed that young Indonesians were fortunate to be living in a country with one of the freest presses in Asia, where the opportunities to discuss sexuality were growing. A highlight of this press freedom was the hostile public reaction to a new draft Criminal Code that sought to prohibit adultery, cohabitation, oral sex and homosexuality under the age of 18. Outraged citizens demanded that the government keep out of their bedrooms, a response Dede and Holzner described as "refreshingly strong". Celebrity, music and fashion magazines also invite readers to write about their lives and ask questions about relationships. The researchers found that replies to such questions did not carry "preachy remarks" from "nanny-like parent figures" or treat young people as incapable of taking care of themselves. The images of young people found in the magazines also did not show them as frightened of sexuality and needing protection; instead they were depicted as experimenting with pleasure with caution and responsibility. Most participants in the group discussions had already engaged in some form of sexual activity. Only a few thought they should maintain their virginity until marriage; none had read government publications about sexuality. "Our sample did not seem to be impressed by proscriptions by State and religious sources," the authors said. "They relied on their own will and found the information they needed. They were not activists for sexual rights, but young citizens living a right that officially is denied to them." Dede, a special reader in the social sciences postgraduate program at the University of Surabaya, is also prominent in the Indonesian gay rights movement. He told The Jakarta Post that many young people were damaged by the lack of reproductive health services and accurate information about sex. The damage included unwanted pregnancies, unsafe abortions, sexually transmitted diseases like HIV /AIDS, depression and suicide. "For example, girls become pregnant while still at school because they don't have access to contraceptives," he said. "These are only provided to `married couples'. In most cases, the girl is expelled and her future ruined." He concluded: "Young people must be able to be active citizens in their society, have pleasure and confidence in relationships and all aspects of sexuality." ------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Sponsor --------------------~--> Click here to rescue a little child from a life of poverty. http://us.click.yahoo.com/rAWabB/gYnLAA/i1hLAA/aYWolB/TM --------------------------------------------------------------------~-> Milis Wanita Muslimah Membangun citra wanita muslimah dalam diri, keluarga, maupun masyarakat. 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