Indigenous waria face systemic discrimination, increasing their risk of HIV infection

Jack Morin and Leslie Butt

A World Vision educational AIDS poster in Wamena    Jenny Munro

Statistics about HIV infection rates released by the Indonesian Ministry of Health last year confirm a pattern that has long been suspected by advocates and researchers. HIV prevalence among indigenous Papuans is almost twice as high as among non-indigenous residents. In fact almost 70 per cent of people infected with HIV in Papua are indigenous, suggesting that almost three per cent of indigenous Papuans may already be infected. Epidemiologists call this a generalised infection, which means that persons who are not identified as high risk, such as housewives, are testing positive for HIV across the province.

Structural inequities have led to higher rates of HIV infection among indigenous Papuans

Many have already suggested that indigenous sexual promiscuity accounts for these alarming statistics. But this is victim-blaming. It’s much harder to acknowledge that the fundamental inequities in the province of Papua make it very difficult for Papuans to live a safe and prosperous life free from the risk of HIV. Economic need often forces rural Papuan men and women into short-term work far away from home. Migrating for work increases the chance of unsafe sexual encounters, because it undermines the tribal cultural values that might otherwise act as a buffer against HIV risks. Papuans are also less likely than migrants to know what a condom is, how to use it or where to get one. To make matters worse, HIV prevention materials are often culturally irrelevant, and usually presented by migrants who are often seen as ‘talking down’ to indigenous Papuans.

Indigenous waria: at greater risk

As a group, waria – men who dress as women and identify themselves as women – are readily blamed for the transmission of HIV. Waria are a recognisable part of life in Indonesia, and their presence in Papua reflects the increasing impact of Indonesian cultural values and social practices in the province throughout the past two decades. Within Papua, we estimate that there are at least three hundred waria, of whom approximately two hundred are Indonesians from outside of Papua. Papuan waria come from several ethnic groups along the north and south coasts of the province, and from urban centers, such as Sorong, Abepura and Jayapura.

One prominent feature of Papuan waria is their involvement in the province’s commercial sex trade. Having sex in transient locations, with partners who are often drunk or on drugs, in places where there is no security, puts all sex workers at risk of sexual assault and violence. Waria face even greater risks. Within Papuan society, men who have sex with other men are generally condemned as violating the tenets of major religions such as Islam and Christianity. Waria thus engage in homosexual practices with extreme discretion in order to avoid stigmatisation and persecution. Secrecy increases risk because waria have sex in isolated locations and without a network of potentially protective friends.

The presence of waria in Papua reflects the impact of Indonesian cultural values and social practices

All waria, like other street sex workers, are at high risk of exposure to HIV. In interviews with several Papuan waria about their relationships, their sexual practices and their awareness of HIV and AIDS we have found Papuan waria to be the group at highest risk of contracting HIV. This is a result of the patterns of risk encountered in their everyday practices. In particular, waria use condoms less often than other types of sex workers – even less than migrant waria. Lessons about condom use, which are starting to have an effect among heterosexual sex workers in the brothel programs and on the streets, have had little effect among Papuan waria, who have less access to organised waria associations which provide safety and support. They also charge less for sex, and so are likely to find themselves in conditions where violent and unsafe sexual practices may take place.

But Papuan waria are also targeted more often because of existing patterns of racial discrimination which see Papuans as inferior to migrants. Papuan waria are less able to draw on resources such as the police or the law to protect their rights.

Miranda’s story

An indigenous Dani man, a migrant waria, and a Muslim schoolgirl—all    help make up Wamena’s increasingly diverse population    Leslie Butt

Miranda’s story shows how economic conditions, discrimination, the conditions of the sex work industry – and a strong search for love – put Papuan waria like Miranda at exceptional levels of risk. Miranda is a young Papuan waria from the Genyem tribe who now lives and works in Abepura. She calls herself a ‘young waria’ (‘waria pemuda’), which means she does not often dress in women’s clothes, but she wears heavy makeup and has permed her hair. Miranda drinks a lot, and describes herself as insecure and troubled. She was the victim of several episodes of sexual violence at a young age, and since the age of seventeen has been having sex in exchange for money. She regularly earns up to Rp100,000 (A$13) for sexual encounters, but often charges far less.

Like her other Papuan waria counterparts, Miranda has sex on the street, in abandoned lots, when drunk, and in hotel rooms. She rarely uses a condom, and only when a client asks. She never uses a condom with her boyfriend – the last in a long list. What looks like a good situation – sex with a boyfriend rather than a client – turns out also to be high-risk. Their relationship is highly exploitative. Miranda will agree to almost anything in order to keep her boyfriend from leaving, for she says it is a relationship of ‘mutual attraction’. As a result her relationship is rife with abuse and violence.

Risk and everyday life

All waria suffer discrimination and violence. All waria are at risk for HIV. But being a Papuan waria is riskier still because the structural inequities in Papua mean that Miranda is that much more likely to have unprotected, risky sex.

Her case is just one of many. But it reminds us of the human stories and the personal struggles behind contemporary Papua’s starkest and most troubling statistical fact: structural inequities have led to higher rates of HIV infection for indigenous Papuans. Redressing this fact means facing inequity head on. It means facing the reality that HIV is transmitted not because of ‘primitive’ sexual practices, but because economic, social, and political conditions have made everyday life rife with risk for all indigenous people in the province.     ii

Jack Morin (djoht67@yahoo.com) is the director of the Population Research Institute at Cenderawasih University in Abepura, Papua. Leslie Butt (lbutt@uvic.ca) is co-editor of the recent volume Making Sense of AIDS: Culture, Sexuality, and Power in Melanesia.