Yogyakarta – Center for Population and Policy Studies (CPPS) UGM in collaboration with The National Team for the Acceleration of Poverty Reduction (TNP2K) held an online seminar “Vulnerable Groups and COVID-19 in Indonesia” on Wednesday, July 27, 2020 at 9.30-12 a.m.

The Indonesia Statistics Agency recorded the poverty rate as of March 2020 increased to 26.42 million people. Regarding this position, the percentage of poor people also rose to 9.78 percent as of March 2020.

The increase in poverty rate reached 1.28 million people from the previous rate, 25.14 million people compared to the rate as of March 2019. The percentage of poor people also rose 0.37 percent from March 2019, which was only 9.41 percent.

This is in line with the statement of the head of Yogyakarta Development Planning Agency, Budi Wibowo, when he stood as a speaker at the CPPS UGM seminar on Thursday (29/07/2020). He said that the poverty rate in Yogyakarta during the COVID-19 pandemic has increased. The increase as of March 2020 reached 12.28 percent, rose 0.84 percent from September 2019 (i.e. 11.44 percent).

According to him, the regional government should make several efforts to overcome this economic problem, such as refocusing and reallocating the local budget, e.g. accelerating changes in the allocation of the local budget, stopping the entire process of procurement of goods or services that do not yet have a contract as of 3 April 2020, except for the operation of Regional Apparatus Organization, goods sourced from privileged funds, and the operation and maintenance of basic or public services.

“We (the local government) have opened several tourist destinations and we will try even more tightly to implement them in the tourist destinations because there are thousands of MSMEs behind those tourist destinations. Fifty-one thousand MSMEs in Yogyakarta are engineering goods for economic growth,” he emphasized.

Responding to the economic problems during COVID-19, the head of CPPS UGM, Agus Joko Pitoyo stressed the impact of COVID-19 on the informal sector. He explained that the informal sector is important to discuss since it dominates the workforce structure in Indonesia.

“More than 70 million workers work in the informal sector. There are high number of workers working in this sector because it tends to be more easily obtained by the workforce,” he said.

The informal sector during the COVID-19 pandemic also tends not to be sustainable. This is at least marked from the disruption of production, distribution, and consumption to a decrease in income. The downturn is also due to restrictions on social activities that cause disruption to economic activities (production, distribution, and consumption) and product supply chain.

The Indonesia Statistics Agency data shows that 70.53 percent of the respondents from the low-income group (<1.8 million) stated that they experienced an income decrease. Meanwhile, the COVID-19 pandemic also caused an increase in spending for 56 percent of respondents, most of them experienced an increase of between 26-50 percent. Most of the increase occurred in food expenditure (51 percent) and this is possible due to the existence of Work from Home (WFH) and Study from Home (SFH).

Survey of CPPS UGM: The Impacts on Informal Workers

Agus Joko Pitoyo delivered the results of the initial survey of CPPS UGM related to the impacts of COVID-19 on informal workers. The survey was attended by 64 informal workers in Yogyakarta and conducted in early July and was still going on until this seminar was held. The participating respondents consist of traders, street workers, building construction workers, online transportation drivers, and artists. The results of this survey show that COVID-19 has impacts on income decline, job loss, consumer decline, and business closure.

The results indicate that 31.3 percent of the respondents stated that they began to feel the impact of the pandemic since early April 2020. This goes after the implementation of social restrictions by the government.

However, the decrease in income and the difficulties during the pandemic did not encourage most informal workers to switch their professions due to the low competency and the perception that there are no professions that can offer better conditions. 23.4 percent of the informal workers who change their professions tended to switch to online business ventures. Even poor working conditions due to COVID-19 did not trigger the desire for 46.9 percent of respondents to change their professions during the COVID-19 pandemic. Meanwhile, 35 percent are still wavering over conditions in the midst of COVID-19 pandemic on the professions they currently own. Another 17 percent have the desire to switch their professions.

Also, according to Joko, COVID-19 also affected street workers in the city of Yogyakarta. The majority of workers and street workers experienced a decrease in income to > 50 percent due to social restrictions and schools and office closure.

“There are differences in the impacts of COVID-19 on workers and street vendors. In workers, COVID-19 causes a decrease in working hours and even layoffs. However, during COVID-19, the number of working hours in street workers had increased by 2-3 hours due to waiting for customers and to maintain the revenue,” Joko explained.

“The informal sector has the potentials to have a faster recovery if the community activities are reopened, but still performed on a small scale of recovery. It needs special treatment, for example using economic stimulus, so the recovery process can optimally run,” he concluded.

The coordinator of TNP2K’s social protection policy, Dyah Larasati, highlighted another vulnerable group affected during COVID-19, i.e. people with disabilities. It is estimated that 15 percent of the world’s population has a disability. One in five women will experience a disability condition in their lifetime and one in 10 children have disabilities. Meanwhile, around nine percent (23.3 million people) in Indonesia have disabilities.

 “Disability and poverty in Indonesia have a strong correlation. The risk will be greater for disability groups during a pandemic. If we consider the additional costs required by people with disabilities, the poverty rate will significantly increase,” she said.

She conveyed that the COVID-19 pandemic has increased risks and vulnerabilities directly or indirectly in people with disabilities, such as 1) The increase in limited mobility due to “stay at home” policy, either on recommendation or mandate or obligation and it caused the difficulties in accessing basic services, such as health and education services; 2) Limited or difficult access to information and health service facilities, social protection, and other related services; 3) The possibility of reduced or limited income support from other family members because they may also be affected by this pandemic; 4) The increase in social exclusion and isolation which can lead to depression, fear, and helplessness, especially because the people with disabilities and the elderly have a higher possibility of vulnerable medical conditions or congenital diseases, making them more susceptible to these diseases; and 5) Less than three percent of people with disabilities received social assistance through the ASPD and PKH Programs. Limited access to social protection makes them more vulnerable to survive.

Although the risks and vulnerabilities of people with disabilities due to the pandemic are numerous, studies, or data related to the increased vulnerability of people with disabilities during the pandemic are very limited.

“Data and evidence related to increased risk due to the COVID-19 pandemic are very limited to date and can only be found in high-income countries (HICs). Data from low and middle-income countries (Low and Middle-Income Countries/LMICs) is very limited,” she emphasized.

The Study on the Economic Impact of COVID-19 on People with Disabilities in Indonesia by Jaringan Organisasi Penyandang Disabilities (Network of People with Disabilities Organization) on April 2020 showed that 87 percent of workers experience a decrease in income and most of them experience a drastic decline (50-80 percent of income).

The economic vulnerability of people with disabilities during the COVID-19 pandemic is also high. 69 percent of the respondents are likely to be poorer or getting poorer due to a combination of low income and a high decrease in income due to the pandemic. 41 percent of them (very vulnerable) is almost certainly below the poverty line and 28 percent (vulnerable) are below or very close to the poverty line.

To help solving this problem, Dyah suggested the policymakers expand the scope and ensure the appropriateness of the value of social protection benefits, ensure inclusive, comprehensive and integrated social protection, and create a simple registration process.

COVID-19 and Women Marginalization

Senior researcher and gender expert at CPPS UGM, Dewi Haryani Susilastuti, highlighted the marginalization of women in the midst of COVID-19. Annual Records Infographic of the National Commission on Violence against Women 2020 show that there are 14,719 cases of violence against women according to their domains; the personal sphere of 75.4 percent (11,105 cases), the community sphere of 24.4 percent (3,602 cases), and the state sphere of 0.08 percent (12 cases). The highest one is physical violence which reaches 5,548 cases with 4,783 happen in the personal domain and 765 cases happen in the community domain.

“The violence against women tends to increase during the pandemic, but the increase in the level of violence against women is not solely due to the pandemic because it has already existed before,” she said.

Responding to the issue of the impact of COVID-19 on the informal sector, she presented data from the Ministry of Women’s Empowerment and Child Protection and Statistics Agency 2018 which showed that 61.37 percent of women work in the informal sector, while 23.31 percent are family workers.

Besides, there is a marginalization in women during the pandemic due to several factors, such as a lack of critical understanding of the development of gender construction in Indonesia and state ibuism. “We can see what happened in the history during the Suharto’s government, there was something called state ibuism, the state definition or state construction of the ideal woman. Based on state ibuism, the ideal woman is one who is domesticated and highly dedicated to her husband, family, and country. That’s why they sacrifice their lives for the sake of their husband, family, and country without expecting anything personal,” she explained.

According to her, after the Suharto’s government, there was indeed a change of mind towards women, but it cannot be denied that the state ibuism was reproduced in a relatively young society even in the order of policymakers, so the different effects of COVID-19 for men and women are not considered the problem has already been in line with the existing gender construction.

She conveyed that the issue of marginalized women during the pandemic is also due to the lack of representation of social science thinking in responding to the pandemic. “The COVID-19 pandemic is seen more from a health perspective. We can see it at journals, especially those written in the field of health, there are two repeated terms, Pharmaceutical Intervention (vaccine) and Non-Pharmaceutical Intervention. Meanwhile, there is no reflective cultural discussion about context, about structural inequality,” she highlighted. 

She concluded that the COVID-19 pandemic has exposed structural inequalities that place women in unfavorable economic, social, and political positions, while the government’s insensitive responses to gender have made the position of women worse off. “If we use the language of war, women are then like collateral damage in the fight against COVID-19,” she concluded.

Writer: Nuraini Ika |  Language Editor: Rinta Alvionita  |  Photo: Alexs_foto (pixabay.com)

Note: The full recording of the seminar can be watched on the CPPS UGM and TNP2K YouTube channel.

 

Yogyakarta – Center for Population and Policy Studies (CPPS) UGM held a web seminar (webinar) “Those who are Forgotten: Elderly and COVID-19” on Friday, 5 June 2020 at 9 -11 a.m.

The elderly population in Indonesia in 2019 reached 9.60 percent or around 25.66 million people. This condition shows that Indonesia is transitioning to aging population because the percentage of population of people aged 60 years and over reaches more than 7 percent of the total population (Indonesian Central Bureau of Statistics, 2019).

It was also recorded in 2019 that the dependency ratio of the Indonesian elderly was 15.01 percent. It means that every 100 people of productive age population (aged 15-59 years) must bear 15 elderly. If this is balanced with the ability of elderly that are independent, have good quality, and not a burden on society, then the aging population will have a positive effect on national development.

In the era of COVID-19, the elderly population (aged 60 years and over) are more vulnerable to be transmitted by the virus. Johns Hopkins Medicine data shows that the mortality rate of the elderly due to COVID-19 is the highest in the world at 4.47 percent. 40 percent of the deaths due to COVID-19 in Indonesia happens in elderly.

Lecturer of Social Development and Welfare of Faculty of Social and Political Sciences UGM and researcher at CPPS UGM, Dr. Mulyadi Sumarto as a speaker in the seminar emphasized that an increase in social protection schemes for the Indonesian elderly is highly needed. He explained that only about 13.4 percent of the elderly received social protection. In detail, 11.13 percent are civil servant retirees, 1.5 percent are military retirees, 0.01 percent receiving benefits for old age, 0.13 percent receiving PKH, and 0.64 percent are from the ASLUT program (Indonesian Central Bureau of Statistics, 2019).

Meanwhile, according to the status of the elderly, Indonesian Central Bureau of Statistics 2019 data noted that 41 percent of the elderly lived with three generations, 27 percent with their families, 20 percent with spouses, another 3 percent, and 9 percent lived alone. “Most of the elderly live together with three generations (the elderly themselves, their children, and grandchildren). We can imagine how come they live together in one house. There are three generations. This is a problem we can see on how uncomfortable their life is (elderly),” he said.

Regarding social protection of the elderly during COVID-19, the government initiated some Social Security Network programs for COVID-19 handling, such as pre-employment cards (kartu prakerja), social assistance cash (bansos), direct cash assistance (BLT) for village funds, family expectation program (PKH), basic food programs, Jabodetabek basic food aid (presidential assistance), and electricity assistance. “There is a social security network created by the government in the COVID-19 era, but from those assistance, where are the social rights of the elderly? There is a tendency that our country ‘somewhat’ pays less attention to the interests of the elderly in the midst of COVID-19. There is one program (including the elderly), that is, the family expectation program. Yet there is no special program for the elderly in the era of COVID-19,” he concluded.

The Role of Women in Elderly Care

Dr. Iwu Dwisetyani Utomo, a fellow at school of demography, Australian National University as another speaker in this webinar highlighted other matters relating to care for the elderly. Through a research conducted in 10 villages in Indonesia, she and her research team found that women have the greatest role in caring for the elderly. “Men also play a role in elderly care, but women have a greater one,” she said.

She then explained that there are three types of elderly care; traditional female care, traditional male care, and gender-neutral care. In traditional female care, she explained how women play a key role in doing household works and care for the elderly. Traditional male care is an elderly care done by men by providing financial and managerial assistance for the elderly, while gender neutral care is done in the form of general assistance, such as transportation facilities and assistance for elderly’s shopping.

Based on data from her research, she emphasized, “The point is that if the elderly is healthy, then more than 30 percent can do their own activities, but the first to help is a husband or wife, then a daughter. Girls have a big role to play, except in financial matters. When elderly becomes ill, then the husband or wife no longer gives care, but it should be taken over by the daughter,” she said.

This is a challenge, because as we all know, girls play the most key role in elderly care. This is a problem when girls want to work. It would be a better way if the government could increase the budget for the elderly,” she concluded.

Author: Nuraini Ika |  Language Editor: Rinta Alvionita  |  Photo: Alex (pixabay.com)

 

 

 

 

Yogyakarta – Center for Population and Policy Studies (CPPS) UGM held a web seminar (webinar) titled “Scrutinizing Physical Distancing Policy on COVID-19” on Thursday, May 14, 2020 at 10.00-12.00 a.m.

The transmission pattern of COVID-19 following the exponential rate forces the public to implement physical distancing and even many countries then issued full lockdown or partial lockdown policy to reduce the trend of pandemic transmission. Indonesia started implementing large-scale social restriction (Pembatasan Sosial Berskala Besar/PSBB) policy from April 7, 2020.

Dr. Hakimul Ikwan, a lecturer at Faculty of Social and Political Sciences UGM and researcher at CPPS UGM said that all countries are currently affected by COVID-19, including the so-called most modern and ‘superior’ countries, such as America, but not all countries have experienced the downturn, e.g. Taiwan and Vietnam.

Even though the current situation (physical distancing) forces the community to be physically distant, the community should also not be emotionally distant because everyone is facing the same problem called COVID-19. However, according to him, there is a strong indication that there will be a growing division of emotional closeness in Indonesia.

Hakim highlighted that the downturn in America occurred, one of them is because of a loss of public trust (distrust) to the leaders of the country, e.g. there was an extraordinary political divide between supporters of the republic and democrats. Meanwhile, the opposite condition happened in Taiwan and Vietnam, which carried out a “remote smart” system. Taiwan did not even hesitate to cut its relationship with China despite their strong ties. The two countries had successfully learned from Hong Kong that did not open the data when the corona virus began to spread.

“Indonesia is currently standing on the brink of distrust because, in one hand, it has a pre-condition of America (disintegration), but on the other hand it does not have Taiwanese and Vietnamese anti-bodies (smartly distant). The government should learn from Taiwan and Vietnam and build public trust,” he said.

Based on the three main pillars of social and social welfare, such as state responsibility, mandatory contributions, and voluntary or voluntarism, Hakim marked that the remaining pillar that provides a ray of hope to prevent emotional divisions in society is the third pillar, voluntary (voluntarism) or social solidarity.

The results of the CPPS UGM survey (2020) conducted online showed that 80 percent of the community is willing to make donations in the form of basic necessities and 76.2 percent said they would donate in the form of money. 34.2 percent are willing to directly give the donation to recipients, 24.7 percent through institutions or third parties, 22.2 percent through online donations, 18.9 percent do not apply, and 22.2 percent said they would do online donation.Chairperson of MUI DIY at department of HR, culture, and art as well as lecturer at UIN Sunan Kalijaga, Dr. Tulus Mustofa explained that Islam is also taught to teach the importance of cultivating an attitude of solidarity in the face of a pandemic. “First of all, building solidarity is very important because whatever we design, as a people or nation, is difficult to achieve if the people or nation are not solid. An outbreak is not only seen as a disaster, but also the opportunity for charity to help others, as well as a part to keep the disaster away,” he said.

Policy Communications in the Era of COVID-19

A lecturer at Faculty of Social Sciences and Politics UGM and Head of Center for Southeast Asian Social Studies, Prof. Hermin Indah Wahyu explained that the novelty character of the corona virus makes the information environment uncertain, therefore the communication strategy must be very precise and intended to the right people as well.

“In the case of a pandemic, preventing the spread of escalation of transmission is an important keyword, so the choice of which method will be the success or failure of a country to get out of the struggle against the COVID-19,” she said.

The quality of public communication (in Indonesia) in the face of a pandemic, according to her, at least experiences several problems, such as, the exposure of strategies by relevant parties with no evidence-based policy, the interpenetration communication failure, and the absence of communication in a large scenario that become the basic strategy of the war against COVID-19.

Regarding the choice of intervention efforts to reduce the spread of the virus, the community needs to be invited to understand what is being faced as well as how the choice of strategies will contribute to reducing escalation. The role of epidemic experts is very important to provide a database that guides the government’s actions.

“However, what happened in Indonesia is we are shocked because of the unclear choice of policy directions. The epidemic experts should have a strong stage because they are experts. However, Indonesian epidemic experts do not even have a stage at all,” she added.

Meanwhile, the interpenetration communication failure is marked by the dominance of certain internal systems in responding to crises, such as COVID-19. “For example, corona in the transportation system filter, corona in the economic system filter, corona in the legal system filter,” she emphasized.

In addition, according to her, there is too much resonance or too many branches of issues that had been echoed by the stakeholders and all the systems expressed their views in accordance with the character of their internal system functions, so they were far from the main problem of the corona pandemic, i.e. health.

“Public discourse about PSBB is filtered by many systems, so it is difficult to avoid discourse conflicts that are very potential to occur,” she explained. Also, there is no communication in a large scenario that is the basic strategy against the corona virus, so it is difficult for the public to imagine what phase Indonesia is currently in (normal, critical, or sloping)?

“The latest data are updated by the Ministry of Health spokesperson every day, but what is meant by such information cannot be captured in the framework of macro strategies. Coordination by the president and staff, and the task force handling COVID-19 by BNPB has more or less the same color of information. Ideally, the president gives a more macro-substantive view of driving the coordination of various elements,” she said.

“A very fragmented portrait of policy communication is difficult to be able to imagine the big depiction like what is currently in the minds of the public: uncertain, equivocality,” she concluded.

Here is the link for the seminar material: download

Author: Nuraini Ika dan Nurul Widia |  Language Editor: Rinta Alvionita  |  Photo: Ramlon (pixabay.com)

Yogyakarta – In addition to causing problems in global health and economic crisis, the World Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) recalled that the COVID-19 pandemic can also cause a world food crisis. According to the FAO, the food crisis is predicted to begin in May-June 2020, and is even likely to continue for the next two years before the global situation returns to normal.

To support food self-sufficiency in the midst of COVID-19 pandemic, urban communities can utilize urban farming models, such as optimizing land or open space by creating community garden, roof garden or vertical garden. Also, developing urban farming model on limited land can also be done, such as vertical, hydroponic, and aquaponic gardens.

As one of referenced institutions for research in population and policy, Center for Population and Policy Studies (CPPS) UGM always seeks to ground the discourse it builds into the most practical and strategic actions needed in dealing with a crisis situation.

In facing the food crisis in the midst of COVID-19 pandemic, CPPS UGM initiate home gardening movement. For example, a researcher and CPPS UGM manager of media and publication, Hakimul Ikwan, made a home garden using urban farming systems (vertical, hydroponic, and aquaponic garden) in his yard.

Hakim said that he has planted many kinds of vegetables so far, such as spinach, kale, and mustard greens. Also, to support food self-sufficiency, he has made a simple fish pond for the cultivation of freshwater fish, such as tilapia, catfish, and carp.

Freshwater fish farming is also carried out by the Head of CPPS UGM, Agus Joko Pitoyo, by making a fish pond behind his house. He has also planted cassava as the way to support food security.

The same thing is done by Citra Sekarjati (a research assistant at CPPS UGM) who has made a vertical garden on her house wall. In addition to growing vegetables, she said that she likes to plant mint leaves because it benefits human health.

Besides, Sri Purwaningsih (a researcher at CPPS UGM) has also planted chili using pot on the porch in her house terrace, as well as Setiadi (a researcher at CPPS UGM) who has planted spinach using polybags as the planting media.

To support food security in urban areas, we can try to plant lowland vegetables, such as kale and spinach. The care for these vegetables is not too difficult and relatively quick to be harvested. Spinach and spinach are usually ready to be harvested at the age of 21-25 days.

In addition to the two vegetables, as reported by tirto.id, other food security groups that can independently be planted are tomatoes with a harvest period of 60 days, chili peppers in 70 days, tubers in 80 days, cucumber in 75 days, eggplant in 90 days, then mustard greens and caisim which are ready to harvest after 40 days of planting. Also, gardening for personal consumption can save the costs of vegetable purchasing and transportation by up to 50-60 percent.

Writer: Nuraini Ika  | Language Editor: Rinta Alvionita

Yogyakarta – Center for Population and Policy Studies (CPPS) UGM helped vulnerable communities affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.

CPPS UGM collaborated with several disaster response action associations to fight the COVID-19 pandemic, including Dapur Umum Melawan COVID-19 (Public Kitchen to Fight COVID-19) and Tolong Sesama Lawan COVID-19 (Help Others to Fight COVID-19).

In collaboration with Dapur Umum Melawan COVID-19 initiated by Solidaritas Pangan Yogyakarta (Yogyakarta Food Solidarity), CPPS UGM distributed the donation in the form of Vitamin C and Vitamin E to the elderly and children in need in Gubung Kidul Regency, Sleman Regency, and Kotagede, Yogyakarta.

Meanwhile, in collaboration with Tolong Sesama Lawan COVID-19 initiated by interfaith, cultural, and professional networks in Yogyakarta, Central Java, and Bali, CPPS UGM also provided food stalls and distributed them to informal workers who were affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Also, the team of CPPS UGM directly involved in distributing 290 food packages to a number of families in need in Yogyakarta on 10-11 April 2020. In detail, 160 food packages were distributed to Sleman Regency, Yogyakarta City, and Bantul Regency, and 130 packages were distributed to the Sukoharjo region as well.

Basilica Dyah Putranti, a volunteer of Tolong Sesama Lawan COVID-19 as well as CPPS’s researcher, explained that such disaster response action aims to help those who are in need and to mutually reinforce communities so that they can rise from the global health crisis due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

“There is no need to wait for government assistance, everyone is basically blessed with a conscience and a sincere desire to help others who need help. The COVID-19 pandemic is a global disaster, it’s us who should help each other to get up together from adversity,” she said.

She added that the spread of COVID-19 is very fast and the vaccine has not been found, so one of the most likely efforts to not be easily infected by COVID-19 is to maintain body immune, one of them is to regularly take vitamin C and vitamin E.

In addition, an effort to fight the spread of COVID-19 is to do physical distancing. This significantly affects the decline in economic activity and volume, especially for those who belong to lower-middle income groups, the majority of whom work in informal sectors with daily wage. This group also does not have assets and savings that can be relied upon while facing the lost or decrease their income.

“In addition to the high percentage of informal workers (around 55 percent) in Indonesia, they are also one of the most affected groups in the COVID-19 pandemic. Therefore, we distribute food donation in the hope that it can ease the burden on those in need,” she added.

As a referral research institution in population and policy, according to her, CPPS UGM is supposed to always ground the discourse that it builds into the most practical and strategic actions needed in a crisis situation.

Triyastuti Setianingrum, CPPS UGM Finance, Asset, and HR Manager, said that the COVID-19 pandemic has many implications that affect various aspects of life, such as economic, social, cultural, religious, and political. Therefore, good cooperation and awareness of all parties is needed to immediately get out of this condition.

“Therefore, CPPS UGM is moving together, hand in hand to fight the COVID-19 pandemic by donating and collaborating with various parties to help those in need,” she said. According to her, this action is also one of the implementations of Tri Dharma Perguruan Tinggi (Three Pillars of Higher Education), that is community service.

In addition to hold collaboration with some parties, she highlighted that CPPS UGM also had a plan to provide assistance in the form of basic foods given to internal and external parties of CPPS UGM.

Moreover, CPPS UGM also had a scientific agenda related to COVID-19, such as holding online seminars and publishing the Special Edition of Jurnal Populasi on COVID-19.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Bojonegoro, CPPS UGM – Center for Population and Policy Studies (CPPS) UGM in collaboration with Exxon Mobil Cepu Limited (EMCL) held “Assistance Program for Improving Governance and Development of Population-oriented Villages”. It was performed in four villages in three sub-districts of Bojonegoro Regency, such as Sedahkidul in Purwosari District, Tlatah in Purosari District, Grebegan in Kalitidu District, and Wadang in Ngasem District.

The program was begun with the knowledge sharing on the development planning of population-oriented village, how to facilitate villagers’ meeting, and the use of data for development priorities. The training speakers consisted of government officials and practitioners as well as the research teams of CPPS UGM, such as Setiadi, Henny Ekawati, Fadlan Habib, and research assistants who regularly conducted training related to improving village governance in the four villages.

To optimize the mentoring process, CPPS UGM also placed advisors to oversee each activity in the four villages. The advisors’ role is to ensure the process of accelerating program implementation and achieving targets. Also, they were the village stakeholders’ colleagues to implement the program.

The results of this program revealed that each assisted village has its own superior program in the development of population-oriented villages, such as Grebegan develops homecare for the elderly and Posyandu for adolescents, Sedahkidul develops a scheme of financing rice planting patterns aimed at helping farmers through the roles of BUMDES, elderly homecare in Tlatah, and Posyandu for adolescents which has been integrated through the Youth Information and Counseling Center (PIK-R) program in Wadang.

This program for governance improvement is one of the major concerns of CPPS UGM on the development of population-oriented communities, especially at the village level. This program is also an advanced program for the 2015-2017 period. This is in line with the world’s commitment through the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) protocol to realize a better life order.

“By having this assistance, we feel grateful for it, that it has opened up new enthusiasm for a better development,” Yahya Ketur Edi Wibowo, the secretary of Grebegan, said.

Author: Nuraini Ika/Editor: Rinta Alvionita/Photo: Fadlan Habib

 

Yogyakarta, CPPS UGM – A religious foundation in Bandung routinely holds annual mass female genital mutilation/cutting (FGM/C). At the latest FGM/C, the foundation targets the number of girls to participate by 130. However, the number of participants who registered reached 220, as reported by Vice Indonesia (01/10/2020).

According to Basic Health Research (Riskesdas) 2013 data, 51% of Indonesia women at the age of 0-11 years have performed FGM/C. Further, 72.4% of them have performed FGM/C at age of 1-5 months, 13.9% at the age of 1-5 months, 13.9% at the age of 1-4 years, and 3.3% at the age of 5-11 years.

Indonesia, which has been spared the FGM/C “radar monitoring” at the global level, is now emerging with this problem. In addition, the practice of FGM/C is considered as an African phenomenon, a phenomenon that only occurs in Africa. Data from Riskesdas 2013 underlines the presence of another view that FGM/C also occurs in Asia, especially Indonesia.

In commemoration of the Zero Day on Tolerance of FGM/C, Center for Population and Policy Studies (CPPS) UGM in collaboration with Yogyakarta Women’s March held a seminar “Dissecting Myths and Facts about Female Genital Mutilation/Cutting” on Thursday, February 6, 2020 at Auditorium Prof. Dr. Agus Dwiyanto, Masri Singarimbun Building, Jalan Tevesia, Bulaksumur, Yogyakarta.

This seminar did not only present the researchers of CPPS UGM, but it also invited gender activists, reproductive health activists, and Islamic scholars. This seminar aims to see FGM/C from perspectives, such as culture, religion, and policy.

The researcher of CPPS UGM, Sri Purwatiningsih, S.Sc., M.Kes., as the seminar speaker said that in some regions, the practice of circumcision or FGM/C in Indonesia is considered a religious obligation that must be fulfilled and has become a hereditary tradition that is hard to eradicate. The statement refers to the results of CPPS UGM survey 2017 entitled Female Genital Mutilation/Cutting: Intersection between Tradition and Modernity.

The results of the UGM CPPS survey show that the majority of FGM/C is performed by dukun (45 percent), midwives/nurses/health workers (38%), FGM/C dukun (10%), and doctors (1%). CPPS survey results also show that 84.6% of dukun performed the FGM/C using a knife or razor blade; 3.9% using scissors; and 7.7% using needles.

Based on WHO typology (2012), there are four methods used in FGM/C; clitoridectomy (cutting part or all of the clitoris or membrane above it), excision (cutting part or all of the clitoris and/or labia minora with or without cutting the labia majora), infibulation (the practice of narrowing the vaginal opening with the lining by cutting or changing the shape of the labia majora and labia minora, while the clitoris is not cut at all), and other methods of action that injure the vagina without medical purposes, such as scratching, piercing or scratching the genital area.

Meanwhile, according to the results of the FGM/C survey 2017 conducted by CPPS UGM, the fourth type is the most widely used method in Indonesia. In addition to these findings, the study also found types of FGM/C practices that are not included in WHO typology, such as partially cutting the clitoris and prepuce, scratching or scraping the urethral opening, and symbolic without injury.

The survey of CPPS UGM 2017 was conducted in ten provinces; seven provinces have a fairly high FGM/C prevalence rate, such as Gorontalo, Bangka Belitung, Banten, Riau, South Kalimantan, West Java, and West Sulawesi; and three provinces have local regulations that support the practice of medicalizing women in health service facilities, such as East Kalimantan, Jambi, and West Nusa Tenggara.

No Health Benefits, Only Harm

Referring to WHO data, FGM/C has no health benefits, it endangers girls and women in many ways, such as excessive bleeding, genital tissue swelling, fever, infections such as tetanus, bladder problems, and injuries to the surrounding genital tissue to death.

For the long term, FGM/C can cause problems in the bladder (painful urination, urinary tract infections), vaginal problems (vaginal discharge, itching, bacterial vaginosis, and other infections), problems during menstruation (menstrual pain, menstrual pain menstruation, and so on).

Further, it can also cause sexual problems (pain during intercourse, decreased satisfaction), increased risk of childbirth complications (difficult childbirth, excessive bleeding, caesarean section, and newborn consciousness), newborn mortality, psychological problems (depression, anxiety, post-trauma stress disorder, low self-esteem), and other health complications.

Due to the strong background of customs and culture and without medical reasons, WHO issued a new guideline stating that FGM/C is a violation against human rights.

seminar material links

CPPS UGM held a seminar on “Impact of Reproductive Health Policies on Woman’s Health: MDGs and BPJS” on Thursday, November 28, 2019 at Prof. Auditorium Dr. Agus Dwiyanto, CPPS UGM.

Prof. Dr. Etsuko Matsuoka, a researcher from Nara Woman University Japan, was lined up as the speaker and presented several things related to cultural changes in delivery process as well as the role of midwives in the field of reproductive health in Indonesia.

She explained that there were many births assisted by a medicaster called dukun bayi in the middle 1990s. As time and technology went by, the mothers began to deliver her baby with the help of midwives. Subsequently, many midwives began to have their own labor practice called Praktik Bidan Mandiri (BPM).

When Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) targets related to the strategy for reducing child mortality and improving maternal health was issued, midwives have received special training to provide services for ideal delivery. Apart from the noted developments, according to Matsuoka, the reality shows that many midwives refer the pregnant women to give birth in a hospital.

Data obtained from Sadewa Hospital Yogyakarta (2014), for example, shows that 54 percent of pregnant women give birth by cesarean section (c-section) and 40 percent of the pregnant women who give birth in the hospital are referred by midwives. This proves that the pregnant women prefer giving birth in hospitals to BPM.

Regarding the delivery process in hospital, Matsuoka explained that BPJS insurance only finance around 700 thousand rupiahs. The amount is insufficient to finance the needs of delivery, especially if this is performed by c-section.

On the other hand, BPM also does not have an MoU with BPJS. The BPM must work closely with doctors who open independent practices.

“The question is, is the midwife gaining power or losing power? and has the strategy to achieve MDGs 5 and BPJS been successful in improving women’s reproductive health?” Matsuoka asked, which is then continued with the question-answer session and open discussion with the participants.

 

Seminar “How to Enjoy the Process of Scientific Writing” held by CPPS UGM on Friday (11/15/2019) was one of interesting event to note.

Prof. Ben White, as the speaker, gave some tips on good and fun scientific writing. First, when the writer(s) writes scientific paper like a thesis, he advised the writer(s) to be able to firstly forget that he is writing a thesis. Second, anything related to the affairs with the supervisor can also be forgotten for a moment. He then emphasized the participants to try to communicate with what they wanted to write, “Hear the voice of your book speaking to you, and write it …” he said.

The fourth tip is to keep on exercising. “Writing is not just a matter of talent, but also about practice,” he said. The exercise is supported by frequently reading books and not delaying to write it immediately. Finally, he reminded to continue writing in a discipline habit.

“All successful writers usually have discipline or routine writing habit. Some are happy to write in the morning, some at night. It’s also important to do and get used to,” he added.

 

 

Yogyakarta, CPPS UGM –  Politics and comedy have a long history and level. In recent decades, politics and comedy have changed from ‘awkward friends’ to ‘inseparable alliances’.

Couple weeks ago, huge demonstrations held by thousands of students from various campuses were seen in major cities of Indonesia. The protesters were taken to the streets to urge the government to pass the new Partai Keadilan Sejahtera (PKS) law and revoke the new Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) and Draft Bill of Criminal Code (RKUHP) laws.

One interesting moment during the protest occurred from “funny” writings on the posters, such as ‘My skin care products are expensive, there must be a serious problem that finally made me head to the streets’.

People of generation Z are trying to convey their political aspirations in a new way, that is, by making demo posters or banners in a humorous style.

Sakdiyah Ma’ruf, while presenting the related topic on a seminar held by CPPS UGM entitled “Fighting with Joy: Humor in National Political Communication,” Monday (10/21), said that humor is currently gaining its moment.

Different from the youth of 1998, according to Sakdiyah, the people of generation Z who participated for the first time in democracy (i.e. voting on elections) and preserving democracy (protests and demonstrations) seemed not only to focus on the problems they were fighting for, but also brought the issues with random and personal references.

The sentence like, ‘my skin care products are expensive, there must be a serious problem that finally made me head to the streets’, colored the sphere of demonstrations throughout Indonesia and made the protesters of the year excited and the most important thing is viral,” Sakdiyah said.

There are four things about people of generation Z. Sakdiyah explained, “They are gathered in groups but their expression is very individual because for them, standing out (not partisans) and having a personal dialogue are important way to resolve the existing conflicts and to make the decisions pragmatically”.

The posters brought by the Gen Z to the streets had gained people’s attention because of their unique humor and messages of celebration and participation. But the posters also might also not raise public awareness on the main issues of demonstrations.

“They (protesters) made strong and clear messages, showing that the new generation (Gen Z) is alive and wholesome, and ready to fight for it in any ways they wanted,” she continued.

Sakdiyah added that the writings have four categories; Focus Issues, Pop Culture, Personal and Random Life References.

The posters with Focus on Issues writings were referred to the political conditions they were experiencing, such as “Dear police officers, please don’t persecute me! I’m Mr. Tito’s nephew.” There were also Pop Culture writings in which the appreciation was conveyed by including the latest trends, such as “Korean drama is not as fun as the parliament drama.

Meanwhile, the reference concerning personal life showed the poster referred to personal matters such as, “It’s ok that my love story failed, but not KPK!”. The last category has referent ‘random’ that is not directly related to the context of demonstrations (e.g. “Dear Mom, your son wants to get married soon”.

Humor is not merely a joke, but a meaningful entity, especially in political contestation to voice and get the authorities’ attention.

It can also help people gain perspectives, digest problems, and release tension regarding situations of anxiety, confusion and hopelessness.

Mutual self-recognition in humor is the most powerful weapon for showing humanity, political maturity and a respect for people intelligence. “We understand the satirical and metaphorical languages, but what we don’t understand is hate speech,” she responded.