RESEARCH AND ADVOCACY. (From left to right) Dr Oka Negara, head of the Department of Andrologie and Sexologie of Facultas Kedoctoran (Faculty of Medicine) of Universitas Udayana in Indonesia; ISEAN-Hivos Global Fund Program director Dr Loyd Brendan Norella; XU psychology faculty member and Office of Promotions, Testing and Admissions (OPTA) director Dr Joey Jegonia; and Ateneo de Davao University's Center of Psychological Extension and Research Services director Dr Rhodora Gail Ilagan. Supplied photo.
There is a great need to conduct more researches in the Philippines on the different issues faced by lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) community and on HIV/AIDS, a Southeast Asian network said during their assembly in Bali, Indonesia.
The Insular Southeast Asian Network - Humanist Institute for Co-operation with Developing Countries Program (ISEAN-Hivos), during its regional meeting and capacity building activity last month, also called for a formation of a regional and national researchers’ network on sexuality and reproductive health in member-countries.
Dr Oka Negara, head of the Department of Andrologie and Sexologie of Facultas Kedoctoran (Faculty of Medicine) of Universitas Udayana in Indonesia discussed the possibility of information sharing and collaborations to conduct researches on LGBT concerns and HIV/AIDS in the Philippines, to be financed by Global Fund for AIDS, Malaria, and Tuberculosis (GFATM) Round 10.
Negara also serves as the chairperson of the Indonesia Sexuality Study Group, which aims to create a research network wherein the studies from different countries will be uploaded on the Internet through an online research hub, accessible to student and professional researchers across the globe.
Tentative point persons in the Philippines were determined to form the research network: Dr Joey Jegonia of Xavier University - Ateneo de Cagayan from Cagayan de Oro City; Dr Rhodora Gail Ilagan of Ateneo de Davao University (AdDU) in Davao City; University of the Philippines Diliman researcher Eric Julian Manalastas, head of the LGBT special interest group of the Psychological Association of the Philippines; and Dr Rowena V Bañez, guidance and evaluation director of the University of St La Salle in Bacolod City.
Besides the usual published LGBT issues, there were other concerns expressed during the ISEAN-Hivos Program meeting; one of which was the care for the elderly LGBTs.
Representatives from LGBT groups said that there are only a few central houses for elderly LGBTs that exist in Southeast Asia. They asked the public and private sectors to build more homes for the ageing members of their community.
Though most of the LGBT advocates’ concerns were related to physical health, it was pointed out in the discussions that there is a need to look into the bio-psycho-social and spiritual needs of the LGBT members. Regular counselling has been recommended to the LGBT groups so they could express their thoughts better.
Xavier’s psychology faculty member and Office of Promotions, Testing and Admissions (OPTA) director Dr Joey Jegonia also conducted workshops on communications and conflict resolution directed towards building teams to the participants of the said regional event, composed of ISEAN-Hivos Program network coordinators, ISEAN secretariat staff, transgender program officers, and representatives of LGBT organizations, among others. The participants came from different cultural and religious backgrounds.
Following Jegonia’s part, Dr Gail Ilagan, who serves as the director of AdDU's Center of Psychological Extension and Research Services, discussed how to write project proposals.
Both Jegonia and Ilagan asked the participants to group themselves and work as a team in coming up with a project proposal in two hours. The proposals were then presented before the panel composed of the funders, government officers, and volunteers. After critiquing, the participants were given time to refine their proposals.
At the end of the ISEAN-Hivos Program regional assembly, the network emphasized that achieving psychological wellness (mental health) should be part of our concern and advocacies.
ISEAN-Hivos is a five-year, multi-country community system program funded by the Global Fund for AIDS, Malaria, and Tuberculosis (GFATM) Round 10. Its main goal is to reduce the risks, vulnerability, and impacts of HIV/AIDS on the LGBT communities in Indonesia, Malaysia, Timor-Leste, and the Philippines. ∎