Nining Ivana, the local coordinator of the Indonesia Positive Women Network (IPPI), Jakarta, was shocked when she received a voice message from one of the network’s new members.
In the message, Mutiara Ayu (not her real name) said that she had been beaten by her husband and abused by her husband’s family when they discovered that both her and her son were living with HIV. Research by IPPI in 2011 found that, like Ms Ayu, more than 28% of its members across Indonesia had experienced violence from their partners and family members because of their HIV status. It is known that women who are victims of sexual abuse are also at a higher risk of contracting HIV.
To address the linkages between HIV and violence against women, IPPI is holding a series of workshops to better integrate services for HIV care, support and treatment and against violence against women across eight cities in Indonesia. IPPI members who are survivors of violence, local HIV service workers from public health clinics and managers of women’s shelters have been attending the workshops, at which the results of the IPPI’s research are disseminated, needs are discussed, experiences are shared and a local action plan to better integrate both services is decided upon.
“I heard stories from HIV service providers at public health clinics. They couldn’t understand how a woman living with HIV had such a low CD4 level despite routinely visiting the clinic. Apparently, her husband banned her from taking her antiretroviral medicine. They know that these women are more likely to be victims of violence, but they do not know where to refer them to, since there is no standard operating procedure beyond their health care,” said Chintya Novemi, the person in charge of integrating services for HIV and violence against women at IPPI.
In addition to HIV care, support and treatment services, women living with HIV who are victims of violence may need counselling for trauma and legal aid should they decide to pursue litigation. Through its HIV & Violence against Women Services Integration Project, IPPI aims to bridge this gap. When there is not a formal relationship or mechanism, or it is not clear, informal referral mechanisms made by local stakeholders could save a woman’s life.
“After meeting with workers from services for HIV and violence against women at the workshop, it became clearer to me where I should refer IPPI members who encountered violence and how we should handle their cases,” said Ms Ivana, who joined the workshop in Jakarta.
Upon finishing the series of workshops, IPPI hopes to disseminate the results to national stakeholders, including the National Commission on the Elimination of Violence against Women, the Ministry of Health, the Ministry of Law and Human Rights and others. The ultimate goals are to gather evidence regarding these interlinked issues and advocate for a national standardized mechanism to protect women living with HIV from all forms of gender-based violence.
