Jenny Munro

I am an anthropologist with extensive experience in Indonesia. I am interested in how health is influenced by inequalities, political conditions, gender/sexualities, and cultural meanings. For example, I investigate how global health interventions affect local political and health care configurations in West Papua province, Indonesia. I reflect on how racism intersects with alcohol consumption and beliefs about the body. I am interested in family policy and health care, particularly antenatal care and childbirth, but I connect these health challenges to theoretical discussions of racialisation, sovereignty, and critical medical anthropology.

My research is ethnographic, qualitative, and collaborative, with a strong focus on health, gender and education. I have led research teams focusing on reproduction and sexuality, gender-based violence prevention, HIV education and care, and alcohol, collaborating with NGOs and universities in Indonesia. I am currently researching experiences of antenatal care and hospital delivery, especially caesarean births (funded by a UQ grant). I am a Chief Investigator on an ARC Discovery Project led by Professor Lyn Parker (UWA) that is exploring vulnerabilities and resilience in Indonesia.

You can read my open access publications on HIV: http://press-files.anu.edu.au/downloads/press/n4043/pdf/ch07.pdf

And gender: http://press-files.anu.edu.au/downloads/press/n2310/pdf/ch02.pdf

A recent publication is on Global HIV Interventions and Technocratic Racism in a West Papuan NGO, Medical Anthropology, DOI: 10.1080/01459740.2020.1739036.