old.TheJakartaPost.com – Dicky Christanto, The Jakarta Post
Discrimination remains a major stumbling block for transvestites and gay communities across the country, especially for those with HIV/AIDS or other sexually transmitted infections, despite a heightened campaign for equality and rights, a discussion heard Thursday.
“We are here with high hopes that legislators will articulate the grievances of our fellow transvestites and gay people whose social, economic and health rights are neglected,” Yulianus Rettoblaut, head of the Indonesian Transvestites Communication Forum (FWKI), told a hearing with members of the House of Representatives’ Commission IX, which oversees citizenship, health, labor and transmigration affairs.