This research examines Indonesian cultural conceptions of HIV/AIDS, including perceptions of risk. Two years of fieldwork allowed for an in-depth assessment of three diverse and important populations in Jogjakarta, Indonesia: (1) female sex workers, (2) waria, Indonesias third-gender, and (3) university students. Surveys (N=413) and interviews (N=60) were partnered with anthropological participant observation to form a more holistic understanding of the impact and efficacy of available HIV/AIDS education programs. Results suggest that Western notions of risk are utilized to define, construct, and fund HIV/AIDS education programs throughout the archipelago. These constructions often fail to adequately consider Indonesian cultural conceptions relating to HIV/AIDS.
This dissertation problematizes notions of high-risk groups, as well as high-risk behaviors. An anthropological understanding of the nuances of local cultural perceptions around HIV and risk helps to illustrate how Western notions of risk are incompatible with local Indonesian realities. For instance, fieldwork with Indonesian sex workers illuminates the importance of understanding identity as it applies to perceived risk. Islamic ideas of polygyny often create an acceptable non-risky identity for sex workers as lesser wives. Information collected from and about Indonesias third gender illustrates how cultural categories within the parameters of religious ideologies allows a niche market in which sex with a waria, not being between a man and a woman, is not considered sex nor high-risk. Interviews with Indonesian university students exemplify how local realities and definitions of high-risk sex and low-risk monogamy often differ greatly from the definitions assumed by HIV/AIDS prevention and education programs.
HIV/AIDS programs based on Western biomedical and cultural models can create pockets of misinformation and confusion when they fail to fully incorporate critical Indonesian cultural categories, identities, and definitions. Results of this study suggest that more effective HIV/AIDS educational programs in Indonesia would result from recognizing: (a) the multifaceted identities of the people for whom programs are provided; (b) the importance of cultural categories and how they operate within complex state and religious ideologies; and (c) that cultural and programmatic definitions of risk are often inconsistent. Understanding Indonesian cultural conceptions allows for a deeper understanding of effective ways to implement culturally sensitive and appropriate HIV/AIDS programs and policies throughout the archipelago.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:PITT/oai:PITTETD:etd-04122006-124827 |
| Date | 30 June 2006 |
| Creators | Crisovan, Piper |
| Contributors | Joseph Alter, Carol McAllister, L. Keith Brown, Richard Scaglion |
| Publisher | University of Pittsburgh |
| Source Sets | University of Pittsburgh |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | text |
| Format | application/pdf |
| Source | http://etd.library.pitt.edu/ETD/available/etd-04122006-124827/ |
| Rights | unrestricted, I hereby certify that, if appropriate, I have obtained and attached hereto a written permission statement from the owner(s) of each third party copyrighted matter to be included in my thesis, dissertation, or project report, allowing distribution as specified below. I certify that the version I submitted is the same as that approved by my advisory committee. I hereby grant to University of Pittsburgh or its agents the non-exclusive license to archive and make accessible, under the conditions specified below, my thesis, dissertation, or project report in whole or in part in all forms of media, now or hereafter known. I retain all other ownership rights to the copyright of the thesis, dissertation or project report. I also retain the right to use in future works (such as articles or books) all or part of this thesis, dissertation, or project report. |
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