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INDONESIA: Brushing up on Reproductive Health Lessons
By Richel Dursin
BANDUNG (IPS) - In a classroom full of senior high school students, Budhi Setiawan was giving a lecture on reproductive health when a 16-year-old girl raised her hand and asked: Does kissing cause pregnancy?
On another occasion, Setiawan was discussing the risks of sexual activities on a live radio talk show when a 21-year-oldfemale university student interrupted him and posed the question: Does sexual intercourse result in pregnancy?
Such questions are often heard from Indonesian youths, who experts say are mostly denied information about reproductive health by their families and school authorities.
''That is how naive Indonesian youths are,'' says Setiawan, who at 22 is a general medical practitioner and volunteer at Mitra Citra Remaja (MCR), a youth centre here which offers counselling, peer education training and reproductive health services to high school students.
Every Sunday evening, Setiawan hosts 'Pojok Ngeres', a radio programme on healthy lifestyles for teenagers.
''Of the 10 callers that ask me over the radio, eight are sexually active,'' explains Setiawan, whose talk show is popular among youths from middle to upper class families and counts at least 300,000 listeners in Bandung, a city south-east of Jakarta.
Most of the youngsters who consult with MCR are avid listeners of 'Pojok Ngeres'.
''Indonesian youths engage in sexual activities, but they do not know about the risks,'' says MCR coordinator Irawati Imran.
Early marriage and sexual intercourse, involving persons under 16 years old, is prevalent in all provinces in Indonesia.
The results of the latest survey by MCR show at least 90 percent of youths in Bandung believe that premarital sex is prohibited, but more than 50 percent also say they would engage in it if there is a chance.
The findings also show that many Indonesian youths think that engaging in sexual intercourse for the first time does not cause pregnancy, that kissing can result in pregnancy, and that jumping after having sexual intercourse would flush out the sperm cells.
With the limited knowledge young Indonesians have about reproductive health, the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) has coordinated with the National Family Planning Coordinating Board and the non- governmental Indonesian Planned Parenthood Association in setting up six youth centres near high schools and universities in Indonesia, including
one here in Bandung.
''In these youth centres, there is an education block, life skills education as we call it,'' says Patricia Koster, UNFPA programme officer in Jakarta.
Under Indonesia's Population Law No. 10 issued in 1992, providing contraceptive services to unmarried persons is forbidden.
''Indonesian youths do not have a supportive environment where they can get information about reproductive health,'” Imran said.
''Talking about sex is still taboo in our culture,'' said Ahmad Faried, one of the five medical staff of the MCR reproductive health services division. ''Most of the parents think that if they teach their children about sex education, it will encourage them to engage in sexual activities.''
Aside from providing counselling, peer education training and reproductive health services, youth volunteers at the centres also offer career preparation courses such as Internet usage and job interview techniques to high school and university students.
''The Internet is a gateway to our services just like the radio programme. It attracts the students to come here and they continue to do other activities such as consulting with the counsellors,'' Setiawan explains.
At MCR, counselling is done not only over the radio, but also through letters, e-mails, face to face and over the telephone. Through its only one hotline, MCR receives at least five callers a day.
''Monday is a very busy day for us because too many youths consult with us,'' says Wahyudhi, coordinator of the MCR adolescent reproductive health counselling services division.
Most of the problems consulted by MCR clients, particularly high school students, concern issues like sex, unwanted pregnancy, dating, conflict with boyfriends or girlfriends, drugs, personality, and arguments with family, teachers, and friends.
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