Child prostitutes big problem in Jakarta<\/p>\n
The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
While other teenagers of her age are either strolling around the
\ncity's malls or sitting quietly at home, 15-year-old Kartika (not
\nher real name) spends her nights with guests at a cafe in the
\ncapital.<\/p>\n
Kartika, a newcomer to the commercial sex industry, who comes
\nfrom Karawang, West Java, more often than not ends up in hotel
\nrooms with clients.<\/p>\n
According to Hery, an activist from the non-governmental
\norganization Bangun Mitra Sejati (BMS), who has been trying to
\nget her to quit the business, Kartika believes \"it is my body
\nthat I am selling, but not my soul.\"<\/p>\n
\"Although what drives (people like Kartika) into prostitution
\nis inarguably money, this is not the root of the problem for
\nchild sex workers,\" Hery said.<\/p>\n
\"Their families have the economic problems, not them. The
\nchildren are vulnerable and have no other recourse for income,\"
\nhe said.<\/p>\n
Activists define child sex workers as anyone under the age of
\n18 engaged in commercial sex, which Hery cites as among the worst
\nforms of labor in the world.<\/p>\n
In Jakarta alone, the International Labor Organization (ILO)
\nestimates more than 5,000 children are involved in prostitution.<\/p>\n
The city has mapped six areas in which child prostitution
\noccurs in a large numbers: Prumpung in North Jakarta, Grogol in
\nWest Jakarta, Tanah Abang in Central Jakarta, Jatinegara and
\nCiracas in East Jakarta and Blok M in South Jakarta.<\/p>\n
\"In terms of child prostitution or any kind of child labor, it
\ndoes not matter whether the number is small or large,\" Hery said.
\n\"We have to realize that these children should not be there.\"<\/p>\n
Hery, who works with three other volunteers in BMS, estimates
\nthat more than 800 children between 12 and 18 are forced into
\nprostitution in cafes, hotels and warung kopi (traditional coffee
\nshops) in East Jakarta alone.<\/p>\n
The children are either sold by their parents to cafe owners,
\nor lured to Jakarta by third parties known as calo.<\/p>\n
ILO research shows that almost 70 percent of the children
\nfound their way into prostitution with the \"help\" of their
\nclosest relatives or friends.<\/p>\n
\"Some are victims of child trafficking, but there are many who
\nhave their parents visiting them in the cafes regularly,\" he
\nsaid. The children come from poor areas in West Java like Subang,
\nSukabumi, Indramayu and Karawang.<\/p>\n
\"They often have psycho-social problems that are much more
\ndifficult to overcome than the economic ones,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Kartika showed symptoms of multiple personality. \"She has
\npositioned herself into two identities, the Kartika who sells her
\nbody and the Kartika who still prays regularly every day,\" said
\nHery.<\/p>\n
Kartika, who looks no different than any ordinary country
\ngirl, works 24\/7 and receives only 40 percent of the Rp 300,000
\nto Rp 600,000 booking fees that her boss takes in.<\/p>\n
\"They claim to earn some Rp 2 million a month, but in fact a
\nlot of them are making less than that because their income is cut
\nby the germo (pimp),\" Hery said.<\/p>\n
In a study conducted by ILO on 12 child prostitutes, more than
\n70 percent of them worked more than eight hours a day.<\/p>\n
These children are highly prone to sexually transmitted
\ndiseases, including HIV\/AIDS, physical as well as mental abuse
\nand often end up continuing to sell their bodies after they grow
\nup.<\/p>\n
BMS and Bandungwangi, another NGO helping child prostitutes
\nin Prumpung, are two organizations in the capital trying to
\nrehabilitate child prostitutes.<\/p>\n
\"We are trying to build up their self-awareness, sit down
\ntogether to plan their future and later give them vocational
\ntraining,\" BMS director Anni said. \"This difficult project will
\nbe scaled up later.\"<\/p>\n
\"We see a difference in their eyes as they slowly convince
\nthemselves to quit and seek other opportunities,\" Hery said.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/child-prostitutes-big-problem-in-jakarta-1447893297",
"image": ""
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"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
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