From LFU to We Love You: PLHIV Dream to be Accepted and Self-acceptance
June 5, 2024
The Continuum of Care for Integrated HIV and AIDS Control
June 5, 2024Kebaya, Affirming Identity, Fluttering Our Existence
Kebaya Foundation Planning and Strategy Drafting Workshop
When we hear about the Kebaya Yogyakarta Foundation, the first thing that crosses in minds is an organisation that is related to fashion and identic with elegant, polite, and traditional women's clothes. The closest interpretation of the Kebaya Foundation is elegant and polite, which is what the activists and volunteers of the Kebaya Foundation are. At first, Kebaya Foundation was a shelter for the care of PLHIV in Yogyakarta initiated and established by transwomen on 18 December 2006 under the initial name of NGO Kebaya Yogyakarta, located at Gowongan Lor Street JT III/148, Penumping, Jetis, Yogyakarta. This shelter is a simple building. It is strategically located in the middle of the city and has a contract status, as well as functioning as the secretariat of NGO Kebaya and Violet Peer Support Group (KDS). Starting on 19 October 2018, the legal status of the institution changed from NGO Kebaya to Yayasan Kebaya Yogyakarta with a Notary Deed: HJ. Irma Fauziah SH No. 23, Dated 17 October 2018, SK Kemenkumham RI Number: AHU-0014516.AH.01.04.1018.
Throughout its journey, Kebaya Yayasan has been in contact with various elements and institutions, which has helped it mature as an organisation. One component that has had intense interaction with Kebaya in the last three years is CD Bethesda YAKKUM Yogyakarta, which has provided support in capacity building and improving the performance of the Kebaya Foundation. One of the facilitations provided was the preparation of the 2020-2023 Strategic Plan, which consists of a formulation of SWOT analysis, vision and mission, core values, strategic issues, strategic plan roadmap, work programmes, supporting and inhibiting factors, HIV and AIDS prevention strategies, shelter management strategies, and shelter management dreams for the next three years. The formulation was followed up with several institutional capacity building, including financial, administrative and organisational management.
Capacity building for Kebaya Foundation
As a modern organisation with a legal entity as a foundation, Kebaya needs to improve the principle aspects of managing an organisation, especially a humanitarian-based non-profit organisation. Without standardised management, that would be difficult to adapt and interact with other institutions, especially donor agencies. One important aspect to improve is financial management and governance. This point is an essential prerequisite to measure the extent to which financial governance can run. In turn, if it includes an audit institution, Kebaya Foundation already has the indicator tools and prerequisites for audit review.
Finance is an essential part of an organisation. Orderly, financial management gives an impact on the organisation's overall management system in the decision-making process so that it becomes a healthy and credible organisation.
A group discussion in Kebaya Foundation Planning and Strategy Drafting Workshop
Financial statements are the main gateway to an organisation, where the financial condition is a mirror of the past journey and a starting point for the future. The financial statements are essential and strengthening the capacity of everyone in the organisation to understand and read this big picture is necessary.
For this achievement, CD Bethesda YAKKUM Yogyakarta provided capacity building for the Kebaya Foundation Institution, specifically on financial management. In this training, the participants conducted a joint study of the philosophical value of financial management in an organisation, analysing the finances, and building shared thinking on how the Kebaya Foundation staff understand the financial overview of non-profit organisations. The achievements resulted in the formulation and document of financial governance that became the foundation of the Kebaya Foundation. The staff could read the financial reports or summaries in the strategic planning of the Kebaya Foundation.
Finance Management Training for Kebaya Foundation
The second capacity building is organisational management training. Organisational management that still needs to be reorganised at Yayasan Kebaya is maintaining the focus of the institution's vision and mission and strategic plan, rules of the game, participation, transparency, and accountability. In this training, the staff of Yayasan Kebaya conducted a philosophical study of the importance of organisational management of an institution, shared ideas and reviewed the vision, mission and mandate of the institution, mapped potential and identified programs that have been carried out and explored opportunities that are relevant to the mandate of the institution and provided knowledge and understanding of organisational management.
From this organisational management training, the staff of Kebaya Foundation understand the importance of organisational management of an institution, repositioning and visioning of the strategic plan, formulating the potential and identifying programs, and the relevant opportunities of the institution's mandate. Moreover, participants understand the organisational management (rules of the game, participation, transparency, accountability) and the ability to apply it.
Institution Management Training for Kebaya Foundation
Also, CD Bethesda YAKKUM Yogyakarta provides health services for those who do not have National Health Insurance. The provision of support for access to this health service is transport, doctor consultation, medicine, laboratory and hospitalisation.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, CD Bethesda YAKKUM provided support of health equipment (masks, scales, thermoguns, tensimeters), as well as herbal soap training, disinfectant making, and organic farming on April-May 2020 and July-September 2020. Other support is infrastructure. In addition, there has also been training in local food, acupressure and reflexology with the Peer Support Group, AIDS care community, and health services in Yogyakarta City.
Supporting for Kebaya Foundation is like the recommendations for cooperation with BfdW partners. The cooperation is in the form of a COVID-19 response programme for six months in 2020 and food security for two years (2021-2022).
Group Discussion Presentation in the Kebaya Foundation Planning and Strategy Workshop
Long story to earn the electronic identity card
Building solidarity and togetherness in any situation is a communal identity owned by the transgender community in Yogyakarta City. A sense of commonality in living life is the energy for transwomen to strengthen their identity, especially in the COVID-19 pandemic. Raising the flag of existence is not the first time the transgender community has done this. They could carry out social solidarity actions in previous disaster situations and emergency conditions. During the COVID-19 pandemic, they did advocacy for E-ID cards and access to the COVID-19 vaccine.
It is difficult to obtain the vaccine in the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic. Entering the second year, the Government launched a policy to further facilitate access to vaccines for the community. Even though it was prioritised for health workers and employees who serve the public and the elderly, the access was extended to market sellers, the public, and even school children and 6-year-old children. Interestingly, vulnerable groups such as transwomen have not yet gained access to vaccines due to identity requirements or identity cards.
The Ministry of Health recorded a predicted transgender population of 38,928 people in Indonesia (Ministry of Health, 2017). In addition to being a minority population, most people are still not able to accept them, which results in the position of transgender people tending to be alienated and not yet equal to other groups or populations of society. This inequality has resulted in limitations for transgender women in fulfilling their basic rights, including accessing available public services. The unfulfillment of these basic needs further creates vulnerability for them from various aspects, one of which is the ownership of legal identity documents such as birth certificates, family cards, and identity cards. As an illustration, a study on transgender groups conducted in Jakarta shows that the fulfilment of the right to ownership of legal identity documents is still low such as ownership of birth certificates (54%), family cards (63%) and valid identity cards of 71% (Praptoharjo, et al. 2017). The low ownership of basic documents also results in obstacles for them to continue their education where the majority are secondary education graduates (junior and senior high school).
The limited level of education that can be completed then results in narrow access to opportunities for formal employment. The study noted that mostly due to these limitations, transwomen are forced to engage in sex work. Obviously, by engaging in sex work, they increase their vulnerability to health in terms of HIV and STI transmission and quality of life. Likewise, not having legal identity documents, especially ID cards, hinders their access to public health services provided by the state, including access to COVID-19 vaccination. In early 2021, the government started the COVID-19 vaccination programme with the main target of the elderly, including transgender elderly as one of the vulnerable groups who are prioritised for vaccine administration. But in reality, some elderly transwomen cannot access the covid-19 vaccine because they do not yet have an identity card. This background has made CD Bethesda YAKKUM collaborate with the Kebaya Foundation to fight for access to ownership of identity documents for transwomen.
The advocacy process for population documents began on 26 March 2021 with an audience with the Yogyakarta Special Region Governance Bureau to consult on vaccine access for transwomen, persons with disabilities and the elderly who do not have identity cards. The hearing was conducted by CD Bethesda YAKKUM with Kebaya Foundation and YAKKUM Rehabilitation Centre and received by the Head of the Population Section of the Yogyakarta Special Region Governance Bureau. The result of the hearing was that the DIY Governance Bureau was willing to facilitate the issuance of NIK for community friends who needed and met the requirements (have never had an identity card, or have had an identity card but it has been removed by the Population and Civil Registry Office.
Kebaya Foundation and YAKKUM Rehabilitation Centre are requested to submit a letter to the Yogyakarta Municipality Governance Bureau regarding the application for identity card facilitation, along with complete details such as name, address, age, and problems (never had a national identity number, had one but it was abolished or had one but had to take care of moving) and this is to propose the population document. To verify the information and enable communication between the organisation and the District/City Population and Civil Registry Office, the Governance Bureau will work in tandem with them. It will ease the issue of a new national identity number for assistance that has never had one or that has had one but had it removed by the Population and Civil Registry Office. Discussions to find a solution will be provided for assisting individuals who have had a national identity number but are having difficulty obtaining a relocation letter.
After the first hearing, the Kebaya Foundation followed up by sending a letter requesting national identity number facilitation for transgender women. However, it turns out that the process of issuing population documents has not yet produced results. Seeing the development of the COVID-19 case in Yogyakarta Municipality, several institutions engaged in the issue of assisting vulnerable groups took the initiative to coordinate access to the Covid-19 vaccine for non-national identity number residents to the DIY Health Office with the aim that vulnerable groups can immediately get access to the Covid-19 vaccine including for trans women who do not yet have national identity number. The coordination was carried out online on 16 August 2021, initiated by YAKKUM and the Disaster Risk Reduction Forum (FPRB) and attended by the Yogyakarta Governance Bureau and related stakeholders.
The result of the coordination meeting was that citizens who did not have national idendity number could be vaccinated first. After receiving the vaccine, the participant's data is submitted to the District/City Population and Civil Registry Office for the biometric crosscheck process and form filling. The implementation of Covid-19 vaccination for residents who do not have a national identity number is coordinated by the DIY Health Office at the Regency / City Health Office. The Head of the Population Section of the DIY Governance Bureau expressed his commitment to overseeing the process of issuing NIKs for the community and cooperating with the District / City Population and Civil Registry Office in the coordination meeting.
The coordination process was held on 20 August 2021 and invited the representatives of the Kebaya Foundation, including assisting institutions, to meet with the Director General of Population of the Ministry of Home Affairs to discuss procedures and affirmative actions to accelerate the processing of national identity numbers. The data on residents who do not have NIK can be submitted to the Yogyakarta Governance Bureau before the coordination is completed on 18 August 2021. The submission of data that includes Full Name, Name of Birth Mother, and Name of Birth Father to be discussed simultaneously with the Director General of Population of the Ministry of Home Affairs The result of the meeting coordinated with the Ministry of Home Affairs is that the data from the Kebaya Foundation has been sent to the Yogyakarta Bureau. 16 transwomen do not yet have national identity numbers, of which 7 live in Yogyakarta city, 8 in Sleman regency, and 1 in Kulonprogo regency. The Yogyakarta Governance Bureau has conducted preliminary checks, and the data will be submitted to the District/City Population and Civil Registration Office for further examination.
The Director General of Population and Civil Registry of Yogyakarta gave directions regarding what steps must be taken by the District/City Population and Civil Registration Office to assist in the identity number process. If it is necessary to move from the area of origin, the process will be faster. He also conveyed the process in Tangerang and several other cities in assisting the issuance of identity numbers for transgender women. The Head of the Yogyakarta Bureau has targeted that by the end of August 2021, there must be progress in population document processing from 16 transgender women in DIY.
The process of legal identity documents for transgender women in Yogyakarta still has several challenges. Even though referring to the same rules, the process of identity card making at the Population and Civil Registry Office in each Regency / City does not always get the same results. According to data collected by Kebaya Foundation, on 5 November 2021, all transwomen who live in Sleman Regency received the identity cards with an easy process. However, it is long and requires repeated coordination with the Sleman Regency Population and Civil Registry Office. However, the biggest challenge is in the Yogyakarta City area is there are still four transwomen domiciled in Yogyakarta City who have not been able to get an identity number due to several procedures set by the Yogyakarta City Population and Civil Registry Office. The advocacy process is still ongoing to fight for the rights of vulnerable groups.
Some of the lessons learned from the process of advocating for legal identity documents for transwomen in Yogyakarta are that the role of organisations or groups of observers of the transwomen community in facilitating the need for identity card ownership is broad by collectively facilitating efforts to advocate for identity card ownership. The attempts of organisations and observer groups to advocate for ID card ownership are also in line with the government's program to achieve the acceleration of the target of 100% ID card ownership by all Indonesian residents nationally. In addition to being facilitators, the role of organisations and observer groups is also strategic to motivate communities to take advantage of the benefits of identity card ownership as a fulfilment of individual population rights as well as the long-term benefits that can be obtained with the easier access to public services after having a KTP. In addition, affirmative action is needed by stakeholders to fight for the rights of vulnerable groups, because procedural matters will certainly greatly hinder the success of advocacy fought for by the community.
Best practice from the programmes organised by Yayasan Kebaya and the transgender community in Yogyakarta in advocating for identity cards is an important learning model on how they fight for the rights of marginalised communities in Yogyakarta who do not have identity cards, who consequently cannot access public services including access to health, social security and specifically in the COVID-19 pandemic era is access to vaccines even though they are displaced, poor and vulnerable to COVID-19 exposure.
The identity card advocacy conducted by Yayasan Kebaya appears to be a small and administrative process to serve the needs of the transgender community in Yogyakarta. However, it shows that it has to implement flexible policies for specific cases, especially those related to the transgender community. For example, the administrative requirement of residency that requires a letter of transfer from the area of origin is an obstacle. Learning from this ID card advocacy, the relevant DPOs can eventually facilitate the issuance of ID cards as a condition of accessing various government services.
Jenny Mikha with the identity and COVID-19 vaccine card
The spirit promoted in having an E-identity card and obtaining the COVID-19 vaccine for transgender women is a lesson in how to unravel social problems for marginalised communities who do not have adequate support from their closest people, family, society and the system in the state. The approach taken by Kebaya Yogyakarta Yayasan is one of the comprehensive efforts in humanising human beings, especially for marginalised groups of PLHIV, transwomen, Female Sex Workers (FSW) and the Elderly in Yogyakarta.
Chance, challenge, and learning
Shelters have the potential to serve as aftercare centres for people living with HIV after being discharged from the hospital. Yayasan Kebaya has been managing the shelter for more than 14 years. The dedication shown by the Management and Volunteers of the Kebaya Foundation is quite proven, where many PLHIV can recover and return to their normal activities.
The role of taking care of clients who are sick and admitted to the Shelter is very strategic because most of them do not have close people, family or relatives who support them. Moreover, they have no health insurance or identity card. This problem is made more complex by the high level of stigma and discrimination against PLHIV by the general public.
The challenge faced in the future is the independence of Kebaya Yayasan in managing funding sources, human resources and operational costs for shelter activities. Maintaining good relationships and partnerships with stakeholders, government, and private networks are the keywords in answering the challenges of PLHIV shelter needs.
The important lessons from Shelter Kebaya are togetherness, independence, solidarity and social. It grows from the voluntary work of volunteers and the Kebaya caretaker who have social sensitivity to the problems of PLHIV. *(Hd).
