RSSTwenty-six-year-old Reni Yonmunitasari, an Indonesian domestic worker, now knows that there is no such thing as “safe sex” even with the use of a condom.
“Some domestic workers have sex, get pregnant and get sent home. At least we now know not to do that,” she said. “Of course we feel lonely, but prayer will support us.”
Yonmunitasari was commenting on the “Love and Relationship” workshop that the Archdiocesan Commission for the Pastoral Care of Migrants and Itinerant People (ACMI) organized for female migrant domestic workers in late June.
A fellow Indonesian, Eni Prihati echoed Yonmunitasari´s views, saying the workshop helped her to know how to “take care of myself.”
The two Indonesians were among the 150 participants — mainly Indonesians and Filipinas — who attended a 90-minute workshop conducted by Doctor Ligaya Acosta at the Catholic Archdiocesan Education Centre.
Doctor Acosta, a Filipina, is executive director of Human Life International Asia-Oceania, a Catholic organization based in the United States which promotes the Church´s pro-life teachings.
In her talk, Doctor Acosta encouraged the women to “conduct themselves properly” and not allow their bodies to be exploited for sex, as “sex is a beautiful gift given to husbands and wives alone.”
Doctor Acosta urged her audience to reject pressures to engage in sexual acts with their boyfriends in order to prove their love. She reasoned that if a man really loves a woman, he would wait until after marriage to consummate the relationship.
She also warned of the risk of pregnancy and the possibility of the man later abandoning the woman after learning about it.
In Singapore, foreign domestic workers face repatriation if they get pregnant.
Doctor Acosta also spoke against the use of condoms and contraceptives. Debunking the fallacy of “safe sex” even with the use of condoms, she said, “Using condoms doesn´t protect from HIV or pregnancy. The condom has the highest failure rate (among contraceptives).”
Regarding other contraceptives she added, “Contraceptives kill (the fetus) and cause a lot of documented horrible side effects such as destroying the female reproductive system.”
She warned attendees of the consequences of sexual promiscuity, such as contracting sexually transmitted diseases, and damage to psychological health from break-ups and divorce. She encouraged the women to dress modestly as opposed to sporting plunging necklines and short skirts to avoid sexually tempting men.
The workshop ended with the speaker offering some practical tips to the foreign domestic workers to help them cope with their loneliness. Some examples include taking care of a plant, joining a church group, and talking to a friend. She advised them to “pray, pray, pray” and to take Jesus, Mother Mary and Saint Joseph as their role models.
Speaking to UCA News, she said that migrants face loneliness as they are away from their families. “Therefore we have to teach them how to cope with loneliness” and show them that “they can be happy with other things aside from sex.”
However, not all participants agreed with Doctor Acosta. A 39-year-old Filipina said, “I´m against abortion because it kills, but I´m not against contraceptives as it is a form of prevention.” The woman, who admits to using contraceptives, says she has regular health check-ups.
There are about 170,000 foreign domestic workers in Singapore. Many of them are from the Philippines and Indonesia.
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