Sexual attitudes and behaviour of middle-class young people in Jakarta

Abstract

Indonesian single young people (15-24 years old) are experiencing extremely rapid and bewildering change in values, attitudes and behaviour towards the opposite sex. Premarital sex, pregnancy and abortion, and STDs are increasing among young people in urban and rural areas. Young people are becoming more liberal in various public expressions of sexual feelings. Age at marriage and educational attainment are increasing. Parents and society increasingly expect young people to have higher education and professional careers although marriage is still a universal goaL Among Jakarta urban middle-class young people, lifestyles have become more Westernised than in previous generations. Young people ape the American youth culture as it is portrayed in the media, which is characterised by materialism, consumerism and recreational sex. Part of this is due to extensive exposure to information on sex and pornographic materials, 'Western' values and 'Western' products. Paradoxically, however, religious awareness among young people seems to be increasing, and more girls are wearing veils. The rapid socio-economic changes in Indonesia have provided two strong and conflicting forces, Westernisation and tradition, Westernisation through massive globalisation of information and traditional values through family, religious teaching and other social institutions. The synthesis of these two strong forces is a set of values and attitudes that is uniquely Indonesian as young people have only adopted those values that do not endanger the idealised morality. This can be explained by the framework of idealised morality, the state, modernisation and mixing between the sexes that has been developed for this thesis. The justification for this thesis is that the government still does not see young people as sexual beings who need information and services related to reproductive health. The government still treats sex as a private matter and not as a public-health concern. Consequently, sexuality remains marginal in the health and education agendas. Access to contraception and reproductive health services is highly restricted for single people. Sex education is not given at school and parents are reluctant to talk about sex to their children. Despite the sexual pressures that middle-class Jakarta young people are experiencing, their lack of knowledge on sexual and reproductive health issues puts them at risk of STDs including AIDs, premarital pregnancy and abortion, early marriage, and maternal and child health related problems. Other effects may be the loss of economic and educational opportunities through premarital pregnancy and early marriage. This thesis examines sexual values, attitudes, and behaviour among urban middle-class single young people (15-24 years old) and married couples (30 years and older [older generation]). The issues covered include what is regarded as proper premarital sexual behaviour as well as concepts of marriage. Information related to sex education and family planning knowledge was also collected. Data used in this thesis are derived from the 199411995 Jakarta Marriage Values and Sexuality Survey which I conducted over a period of nine months. The survey covers 344 high school students, 175 university students and 120 married couples. Besides the survey, qualitative data were also obtained. Methods included in the qualitative approach are focus-group discussions and in-depth interviews. Ninety three in-depth interviews were conducted, not just among target groups but with experts and policy makers; 12 focus­ group discussions were conducted among male and female young people living with parents or in boarding houses. ...