Marseille 2007
| Abstract #116 - The Power of Sisterhood: Exploring Women Social Capital to Prevent Mother to Child Transmission on HIV/AIDS | ||||
|
Session: 10.1: Civil society and social ramifications (Parallel) on Monday @ 11.00-12.30 in CP Chaired by Liviana Calzavara, Ted Myers Authors: Presenting Author: Ms Johanna Debora Imelda - Social Welfare Study Centre, Indonesia |
||||
| Additional Authors: | ||||
| Aim: This anthropological study compares two womens organizations, which each contribute to the implementation of PMTCT program in Jakarta, Indonesia, i.e. PKK (Pembinaan Kesejhateraan Keluarga) and TOP (Tim ODHA Perempuan). PKK is the government-supported women organization which is socially and politically structured from the very lowest level in community until the district level; and TOP is the women support group that helps sero-positive mother to overcome their problems. PKK and TOP are presented in the papers as two different forms of social capital that play different roles on the complexity of the PMTCT program. | ||||
| Method / Issue: The research is based on a participatory anthropological enquiry. Data is collected by indepth interviews, FGDs and observation to PKK cadress, TOP support members and PMTCT beneficiaries. | ||||
| Results / Comments: PKK cadres contribute to the PMTCT program by inviting pregnant women to participate in the mobile VCT clinics. The aim is to identify HIV positive pregnant women, in order to prevent transmission of HIV from mother to the infant in the early stage. PKK cadres focus their PMTCT activities on pregnant and married women and their babies. Analysed as mechanism of social support, the PKK can be seen as a mode of community mobilization, which links women to each other through a bonding relationship, i.e. a relationship among people who are in the same level, such as neighbours. TOP support gives interpersonal psychosocial and economic support to sero-positive mother and can only be accessed by sero-positive women in a so called bridging relationship, i.e. a relationship among people who live in different demographic area but relate to each other although they do not necessarily connected in regular time. PKK is formally established by the government and is involved in government projects. TOP support is an informal support group established by sero-positive mothers which emerge as a consequence of the failure of PMTCT program to prevent HIV to women in reproductive age. PKK, with support from the government, emphasizes the traditional role of the women as housewives and community members who also responsible in the development. Although PKK is traditionally powerful, the state is using the institution to reinforce the dominant culture which is very patriarchal. Even so, PKK does enable housewives to interact with each other informally and with other community groups. It is perceived by cadres as an empowering organization. TOP support puts the women as centres of the development and respects the rights and autonomy of the women as the agent of change. Unfortunately, TOP support is limited to sero-positive women that make its position powerless and stigmatized. | ||||
| Discussion: The paper suggests that with respect to womens reproductive health and rights, PKK is a source of social control which restricts individual freedom of its members and its target groups. TOP support is a source of individual support that gives promotes reproductive health and rights of sero-positive mothers and increases access to care for her and her babies. However this organization is excludes non HIV positive women. | ||||
| Go Back | ||||
