Syphilis and stigma: how cheating husbands are harming Indonesian women and babies

The government says sexually transmitted infections are rising with wives disproportionately affected, more so than gay men and the partners of sex workers

20-45 per cent of HIV transmission is via mother to child, but stigma means many do not get tested for it or for syphilis and other dangerous infections, or receive treatment

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There are fears in Indonesia that parents are passing on syphilis and HIV to their newborn babies. Photo: Shutterstock

Published: 2:00pm, 8 Jul 2023

When Meli*, a 36-year-old housewife in Indonesia’s Medan city, fell ill with what she thought was a urinary tract infection, she tried to treat it with over-the-counter medicine from her local pharmacy.

“I had suffered from UTIs before,” she said. “So I didn’t think much of it at first.”

The symptoms, which included painful urination and vaginal bleeding, continued even after Meli received stronger medication from a urologist when the pharmacy drugs did not work.

Finally, after telling the urologist that she was also suffering from vaginal itching, burning and stinging, Meli was sent to a gynaecologist who ordered tests for sexually transmitted infections (STIs).

Only then did the Sumatra homemaker learn that she had chlamydia and trichomoniasis – common STIs caused by parasites.

“I was bowled over,” she said. “I had only ever had sex with my husband, whom I had been married to for eight years, and I had been previously tested for STDs as part of screening when I was pregnant with my son.”