Selter, a Form of Love for Transwomen

The shelter in Joglo provides a place for trans women who have difficulty finding housing and access to health care.

KOMPAS/ADRYAN YOGA PARAMADWYA

Jhon Pebri (43) is sweeping the floor at Ragam Berdaya Indonesia Shelter in West Jakarta on Friday (12/4/2024). The shelter, established in 2023, serves as a temporary home for transgender individuals in need of lodging.

Transwomen are among us, but they are often still not accepted and often ignored by the state. Never mind getting love, being appreciated as a fellow human being is still difficult. The marginalized groups are now slowly being noticed and receiving love from the small initiation of a number of community members.

A spacious room measuring approximately 12 meters located in a densely populated area of Joglo, West Jakarta, appeared neatly arranged on Friday afternoon (12/4/2024). Two fans in the room continued to spin and blow cool air.

One refrigerator, a dispenser, and a light fire extinguisher (Apar) are also available there. On the other side of the room, there are two stacked beds. The room, equipped with a kitchen and toilet, is complete with various household furniture. There is a gas stove, an LPG cylinder, and cooking utensils.

The rented boarding house for Rp 700,000 per month turned out to be a shelter for transgender individuals. In that place, transgender individuals who have often struggled to access housing, health services, and even citizenship, are empowered.

John Pebri (43), one of the transvestites who has been living in Jakarta for 13 years, for example, has been staying at a shelter there for the past month. He decided to live in the shelter after he could no longer afford to rent a house. His job as a street musician did not provide enough income.

"I often fall behind on my rent because my income is not enough. It just so happens that I have known the shelter manager for quite some time. I was asked to stay here for a while until my financial situation improves," said the transgender woman from Palembang, South Sumatra.

The simple shelter which was established a year ago is not only a place for homeless transgender individuals. In that place, transgender individuals who have difficulty accessing healthcare, managing their identity documents, and receiving legal assistance are helped and facilitated.

"We also often gather here. Yesterday, we all broke our fast here," said Pebri.

Everyone who enters here and leaves must have an ID card, BPJS Health and Employment

KOMPAS/ADRYAN YOGA PARAMADWYA

Jhon Pebri (43) takes a glass from the shelf at the Ragam Berdaya Indonesia Shelter, West Jakarta, Friday (12/4/2024).

Public donations

A simple shelter located approximately 100 meters from the public cemetery (TPU) in Joglo was developed by three social and minority issues activists. They have consistently been fighting for the rights of marginalized communities who are often overlooked by the government. They are Mia Olivia, Echy, and Hartoyo.

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According to Mia, the shelter currently occupied by Pebri was founded by their movement called Ragam Berdaya Indonesia. The initial aim of this movement is for all trans women, transgender people, including other marginalized groups to receive equal access from the state, especially health insurance, death, accident, old age, pension and job loss insurance.

"Everyone who enters here and leaves must have an ID card, BPJS Health and Employment. They must have that," he said.

The idea behind the birth of the movement originated from a figure named Echy who is still active in the Srikandi Sejati Foundation. Initially, he dug into his own pockets to realize that good intention.

"The longer it goes on, the more people come to the shelter. It gets harder. Especially if someone is sick," said Mia.

Echy contacted Mia and Hartoyo and explained the noble intentions. The idea was well received, and they worked together to seek donations.

When the shelter was established, they received donations from a gender-based violence victim and survivor consultation and legal aid institution. The institution helped finance the shelter's rent for five months.

KOMPAS/ADRYAN YOGA PARAMADWYA

Developer of the Indonesian Empowered Variety Shelter Program, Mia Olivia

Efforts to seek donations do not stop there. Besides digging into their own pockets, they have also reopened public donations. The donations, which were originally intended to pay for the shelter rent, turned out to be positively responded to by the public. The total donations collected since January 2024 amount to around IDR 43 million.

"The thing that made us surprisewhen we open donations, was that many of the donors we didn't know. They were also not from our movement or partners, even in Malaysia, they donated quite a lot," he said.

Donations also came from minority gender and sexual organizations. In addition, there were media workers, fellow activists of marginalized groups, as well as customers and sellers of secondhand goods.

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The public and self-help donations carried out by Mia and two of her relatives, although still relatively small in value, have been helpful for the transgender community. As long as the shelter has existed, 25 transgender individuals have stayed there for a significant amount of time.

"Meanwhile, for those who stop by, such as those who need rest or go to shelters just to eat. The number reaches hundreds of people," said Mia.

In a separate occasion, Hartoyo, one of the activists of Ragam Berdaya Indonesia, explained that during the month of Ramadan, they also collect donations. The program is called Jalinan Kasih Transpuan, abbreviated as JaKat. In addition to regular donations, JaKat is specifically open to people who want to help the trans community during the fasting month.

KOMPAS/FERGANATA INDRA RIATMOKO

A number of Christian transwomen attend the Prayer Fellowship service for the Bright Path of God's Love at a hotel in Yogyakarta, Friday (22/7/2022).

Low acceptance

Marginal issues, especially multi-layered marginals such as trans women, are still difficult to accept in Indonesia. From the Kompas R&D survey, this minority group faces the biggest challenges in terms of acceptance, discrimination and economic difficulties. (Kompas, 26 July 2022).

A survey conducted by Litbang Kompas on 76 transgender respondents in 11 provinces in Indonesia showed that 94.7 percent of respondents were aware of differences in gender expression in themselves before the age of 18. However, those who dared to be open about it were much less, with only 65.8 percent of respondents revealing their identity as a transgender person when they were under the age of 18.

If they reveal their identities, that's when they become less accepted by their families and the community. Close people, such as family, siblings, or relatives, are less accepting of their existence. This was revealed by around 32 transgender respondents. Even, there were 14.5 percent of other respondents who were completely rejected by their families with their new identities.

On a wider scope, which is the community as a whole, the acceptance towards transgender individuals is even lower. As many as 51.4 percent of respondents admitted that the community lacks acceptance of their existence. Even four out of 10 respondents felt that the community does not accept their existence at all.