Live Without Social Protection; Why Does it Hard for Transgender Women to Access Social Security
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26 September 2022 22:17 WIB
TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The trans women group is not only excluded from political activities but it is also difficult for them to access the rights to obtain social security.
Bitter old memories are stuck in Ochan's head. Her peers made fun of Ochan’s different appearance. “Went to school wearing a skirt, friends, and teachers were mad at me. I changed it, but still put on lipstick,” said the trans woman from Liau, Ende, East Nusa Tenggara, on July 21.
It was not an easy decision for Ochan to dress femininely. The majority of the people in her village still cannot accept her situation. Some of her family members even forbade it. “I was even beaten by one of my family members who doesn’t like me to be a trans woman,” she recalled. “I feel comfortable as a trans woman. I ran away because I wasn't free at home.”
She still received bad treatment when she grew up. Some people cannot accept the trans women community in their environment. Ochan recalled that two years ago, several people blocked and kicked her when she was driving a motorcycle. They told her that they hated her appearance.
What worries her is that she practically has no protection against the people’s negative stigma toward trans women. “I thought about what if I get sick? What if I have no money? I also don’t have BPJS (social security insurance),” she said.
Ochan could not access the service of the national health insurance (BPJS Kesehatan) as she has yet to have an e-KTP (electronic ID card). The citizenship identity is the government requirement in providing services for Indonesian citizens.
She admitted that she often tries to register to apply for an ID card. But the old trauma keeps running through her head. “I’m afraid to be laughed at. Why does a woman have a masculine name? I’m afraid. I often go to the village head office wearing a shirt. I was on my way and then I went back home.”
She realizes that the fear will make it even harder for her to get recognition and social security access from the government. Even today she already feels it. “When I'm sick, I don’t go to the hospital, I only buy some medicines at the pharmacy because I don’t have BPJS insurance,” said Ochan.
Not only does she have no access to healthcare services and other social security, but Ochan also cannot access banking, cooperatives, or other financial services. Since she does not have a KTP, she also lost her right to vote in the 2019 general election.
