Indonesia’s transgender community faces discrimination

The Jakarta Post

The transgender community faces greater discrimination in public than any other LGBT – lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender – individuals, according to speakers at a public discussion in Jakarta on Wednesday.

Ienes Angela, a member of Forum Komunikasi Waria, an organization for transgender individuals, said that while they are regularly shunned publicly, they also experience greater economic disadvantage due to their lifestyle choice. Ienes said they were often turned down at job interviews because of their physical appearance.

“That’s why many of us turn to stereotypical jobs as stylists in beauty salons, caterers, or even street musicians,” Ienes said.

She said compared to homosexuals, who could hide their sexuality from the public if needed, transgender individuals stood out more because they are men wearing women’s clothing.

Stop homophobia: Kamel, a participant at the commemoration of the International Day Against Homophobia in Jakarta on Sunday, performs a dance to entertain other attendants. The commemoration was part of a series of events to raise public awareness about ending discrimination toward the millions of homosexual, bisexual and transgender people living in Indonesia. JP/Wendra Ajistyama

“Gay and lesbian people are not as obvious as us. We are automatically detected,” she said.

Ienes is actively involved in the training and educating division at the Forum Komunikasi Waria, which has a membership of at least four million transgender individuals. She also works for the Srikandi Sejati Foundation as a program manager for combating HIV-AIDS .

She said based on the foundation’s recent survey, around 70 percent of transgender individuals are sex workers, with a third also working as street musicians.

“Only 30 percent work as employees or professionals,” she said.

LGBT individuals attended the discussion to share their experiences of “coming out” to their families and the public as part of their struggle to fight discrimination.

The discussion was part of a series of events held by LBGT organizations — Arus Pelangi, Pelangi Perempuan Institute, Forum Komunikasi Waria, Srikandi Sejati Foundation, Our Voice — to celebrate the 2009 International Day Against Homophobia.

Ferraldo Saragih, head of the program division at Our Voice, agreed that transgender individuals faced greater discrimination by the public compared to other LGBTs.

Our Voice is an organization for gays and male bisexuals, with about 1,000 members nationally.

Ferraldo said LGBT groups needed a specific approach in order to tackle their different programs.

“The problems encountered by LGBT communities are unique. Transgender individuals have their own problems, and so do lesbians and gays,” Ferraldo said.

“While we all sexually belong to minorities facing discrimination both from the public and the state, we face specific problems and need different approaches,” he said.

“Transgender individuals can seldom live in common public communities. It’s easier for gays and lesbians to stay in public communities, though of course it’s tiring for them to put on a charade in front of the public,” he said.

He said the state was the main violator of human rights. There are many laws and regional ordinances that discriminate against LGBT people, such as the Pornography Law and a bylaw in Palembang that criminalizes the choice to be transgender.

Article 5 of the 2008 Pornography Law bans the distribution or broadcast of material related to
homosexual relationships, while in Batam, a bylaw bans homosexual organizations. In Palembang, a
recently passed ordinance considers transgender individuals prostitutes. (iwp)