Indra Harsaputra, Surabaya – Reni (not her real name), 25, was puzzled as she looked at a vending machine to be installed in a red-light district here in February – a device previously unfamiliar to her.
After a demonstration by personnel of the local health office to show how the silvery box could dispense condoms by means of four five-hundred rupiah coins, Reni, only gave a shy smile.
"Oh, it's the condom machine that students and religious leaders have protested over. So it's just like an ATM, but this one gives out condoms instead of cash," said Reni, a commercial sex worker at Sumber Loh brothel, Singojuruh district, Banyuwangi regency, East Java,.
The vending machines, locally known as condom ATMs, in the red-light district of Banyuwangi are distributed under a government program to prevent the spread of HIV/AIDS in the country.
The same condom dispensers have also been allocated to several other regions, including Jakarta and Central Java. For East Java, the machines can also be found in Tulungagung, Pasuruan and Nganjuk.
Procured by the National Family Planning Coordinating Board (BKKBN), the machines are delivered to regional BKKBN offices for further transfer to regional units of the Narcotic and AIDS Control Agency (BPNA), which allot them to regional health offices.
The vending machine project faces various constraints in the field, including rejection by religious groups, which consider the use of condoms as an endorsement of prostitution, thus opposing religious norms.
Protests have emerged in some places. In Medan, North Sumatra, for instance, religious activists and students staged demos against the installation of vending machines several weeks ago. They also jointly voiced their objection to the planned circulation of the Indonesian version of Playboy magazine.
In East Java, no street action has taken place though some circles have begun to express their disapproval. Nahdlatul Ulama (NU), the country's largest Muslim organization with the majority of its members based in the province, even threatened to thwart the program.
Despite public opposition, BPNA as the agency in charge of distributing the condom dispensers carries on with the project because in its evaluation, not all religious groups object to the machines. Some ulema and local community leaders even support the program. East Java's Madiun city will have its share in mid-February.
Reni was apparently pleased with the new method but unfortunately she had no opportunity to benefit from it because of the limited number of condoms available. Limited condom supplies in Banyuwangi and other regions using the machines is another constraint in the project.
In the Gudang Garam cigarette factory in Kediri, East Java, where the same condom dispenser was installed in 2003, its operation has also been hampered not only by a supply shortage, but also by a price increase.
With the condom price rising from Rp 1,500 (3 pieces) to Rp 2,000, older machines need to be adjusted. The provincial BKKBN and BPNA have agreed to immediately cover the condom shortage and to adjust earlier dispensers to the new price.
Disappointed by the limited capacity of the apparatus, Reni also doubted that her customers would be willing to use condoms. "Condoms are also sold around this place at the same price, but many of my guests are unwilling to use them as they find them unpleasant," she revealed.
She knows the risk of HIV/AIDS infection through unprotected sex, but she is unable to insist on the use of a condom when customers threaten to refuse to pay unless they go without. However, Reni is not alone in this case.
A survey conducted by the Central Statistics Agency (BPS) in 2002-2003 discovered that the majority of sex workers in Indonesia were aware of the risk of HIV infection without the use of condoms. But in practice they feared losing their guests if they insisted.
Eri (not his real name), a customer of Surabaya's Dolly brothel, confirmed that some men were reluctant to use condoms because of the loss of sensation, but others had understood the danger of contracting HIV/AIDS.
"Those who use condoms usually come from middle and upper economic groups. They are afraid of losing their careers or business ventures after infection and only want to enjoy safe sex outside marriage," he added.
Unpopular contraceptive
As a prophylactic as well as a contraceptive, condoms are still not popular. Despite East Java's enforcement of a regional regulation in 2004 imposing a fine on brothel customers found without condoms, most men still avoid using condoms as proven by the BPS survey.
As a birth control method, condoms are also being abandoned. Figures from the provincial BKKBN show that while users of condoms in East Java totaled 7,818 in 2004, last year the number decreased to 5,999.
As indicated by BPS data the public prefers the use of intra-uterine devices (IUD), pills and injections as a means of contraception.
Based on the same data, women in villages opt for subcutaneous insertions and injections to prevent pregnancies whereas those in cities mostly choose the IUD and sterilization methods. Interestingly, highly educated women prefer the traditional way of periodical restraint.
Sri Setyawati, head of the provincial BKKBN's planned parenthood and reproduction division, said that in general the public trend in the use of contraceptives had been on the rise.
Contraceptive users in Indonesia increased in number by 60 percent in 2002-2003 compared to 1991. Apart from the factor of education and improved knowledge of family planning, economic conditions particularly following the fuel price hike have prompted people to postpone pregnancies. "But condoms are indeed being abandoned. We are focusing on the use of condoms by sex workers' guests," she added.