Barriers to Male Participation in Family Planning in West Timor

This article asserts that many countries have addressed women when it comes to family planning programmes while men have been excluded in many instances. The article makes reference to research carried out in the communities of Atoni/Dawan and Alor where the role of men in reproductive decision-making is explored.

The author, Bayu Setiawan, suggests some reasons for men's lack of involvement. For instance, they do not carry the burden of getting pregnant, contraceptive methods are generally designed for women, and technological advances have been slow in producing contraceptive methods for men.

According to the author, men have limited choices when they wish to share the responsibility of contraception: they either get vasectomies or use condoms. In addition, Setiawan suggests that having many children is highly desirable since the presence of children indicates a man's "virility and authority."

Setiawan describes a patriarchal system where traditional marriages give men more power over women. He also affirms that higher social status and the role of men in these societies encourages males to dominate the family decision-making process - and that women refer to their husbands before taking decisions, especially when it comes to family planning. While women may play an important role in decision-making, if any disagreements occur at times, in such cases, the husband’s opinion generally prevails.

Setiawan concludes with several recommendations. Not only is it important to encourage male involvement in reproductive and family planning programmes but
equally important is the commitment to developing broader social policies. He recommends that government policies should be strengthened regarding these issues and that reproductive health programmes, especially the family planning programme, should adopt a combined gender perspective in sexual health services. Involving men requires "significant changes in the structure of the programme as well as considerable adaptability and possibly re-education on the part of staff," according to Setiawan.